Argos bounce back to down Als on the road thanks to an offence that finally came to life

For the first two-plus quarters of Sunday's game against Montreal, the Toronto Argonauts looked like the team that put up just nine points against the same Alouettes at home Tuesday. They scored just two and three points in the first and second quarters respectively and looked to be in trouble, trailing 16-5 heading into the break and 23-8 over halfway through the third quarter. The Argonauts' offence finally came to life then, though, putting up 20 straight points in the rest of the third quarter and outscoring Montreal 9-7 in the final frame to hang on for a 37-30 win after DB Alonzo Lawrence picked off Als' quarterback Tanner Marsh's final pass. It was a slow start for the Toronto offence, but one that was much better late than never.

While much of the story in Montreal's 20-9 win Tuesday was the inexperienced Marsh outplaying the Argos' Zach Collaros, it was the opposite this time around. Collaros wasn't able to find a consistent rhythm with his receivers early on, and he was often flushed from the pocket and running for his life thanks to Montreal's heavily-blitzing defence (the Alouettes recorded five sacks on the day and had Collaros under pressure on many further snaps), but he clicked into gear in the third quarter and put up excellent stats on the day. Overall, he completed 30 of 43 passes (69.8 per cent) for 336 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while rushing five times for 42 yards (8.4 yards per carry) and another touchdown. Marsh, by contrast, looked very much like a CFL rookie this time around, completing just 13 of 28 passes (46.4 per cent) for 225 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Although Collaros isn't exactly an old CFL hand himself, he's at least been in the league for two years now and has learned from some great offensive minds, including starting quarterback Ricky Ray (out with a shoulder injury), head coach Scott Milanovich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady. That experience showed Sunday, and it helped him outperform Marsh in this one.

The Argonauts can't get too high on themselves after this one, though. Yes, they're now 6-4, and they're back atop the East Division standings, but they're only one game clear of 5-5 Hamilton and only two ahead of 4-6 Montreal. Moreover, this wasn't a decisive performance overall; the passing offence improved as the game went on, but it struggled early, and the ground game got next to nowhere, with running back Jerious Norwood collecting just 42 yards on 11 carries (3.8 yards per carry). The defence was better despite giving up 30 points, as several of those came from Montreal's defence and special teams: Als' defensive end John Bowman forced a John Chiles fumble that defensive back Geoff Tisdale returned for an early touchdown, and Montreal linebacker Bear Woods blocked a Noel Prefontaine punt in the third quarter, allowing Ed Gainey to return the loose ball to the Toronto one and set up an easy touchdown plunge for Marsh. Still, there were defensive struggles too, including on the final Als' drive where Marsh almost managed to tie the game. The special teams units also had a bad day, with Prefontaine going just two for five on field goals and having that punt blocked. The Argos will be awfully pleased to come out of this one with a win, as they should be, but they still have lots of work to do.