In many ways, this might have been the Argos' worst loss of the season.
Toronto went into Regina facing a Saskatchewan team ravaged by injuries, built a 22-12 halftime lead, and appeared to be in complete control. Instead, the Argos failed to score a single point on offence in the second half and watched another game slip away through a combination of missed opportunities, protection problems and costly mental mistakes, falling 28-24 to the Roughriders.
Ben Grant and JB break down a frustrating night where the Argos should have put the game away long before Saskatchewan ever had an opportunity to come back.
The first half is perhaps the most maddening part. Chad Kelly threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns before halftime, yet Toronto left an enormous number of points on the field. The Argos missed two converts, one of which Saskatchewan returned for two points, failed to connect on a wide-open touchdown, and somehow allowed the Riders to drive into field-goal range in the dying seconds of the half.
A 22-12 lead could very easily have been 31-7.
Then the offence disappeared.
Toronto finished the entire game with just 15 rushing yards, repeatedly found itself in second-and-long, and once again struggled to keep Kelly clean. The quarterback finished with 416 yards and three touchdowns, but Saskatchewan's pass rush increasingly took over as the game progressed and the Argos couldn't put together a scoring drive in the second half.
The defence, meanwhile, did enough to give Toronto an opportunity to win. The Argos held Saskatchewan to 28 points despite the offence's second-half struggles, produced a late safety to go up three, and had the Riders settling for a field goal from the four-yard line with just over three minutes remaining.
And then came perhaps the most painful mistake of the night.
An inexcusable offside penalty on the chip-shot field-goal attempt gave Saskatchewan a fresh set of downs. One play later, Tommy Stevens was in the end zone, turning what should have been a tie game into the touchdown that ultimately put Toronto away.
This wasn't a game where the Argos were simply beaten by a better football team. They had opportunities to take control, opportunities to put Saskatchewan away, and an opportunity to get the ball back late with a chance to win.
