The Toronto Argonauts derailed another dynasty.
The Argos again upset the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL championship game, riding a massive fourth quarter to win the 111th Grey Cup 41-24 at BC Place on Sunday. The result is their second Grey Cup win over Winnipeg in three years.
Toronto pulled away with 24 fourth-quarter points, tying a Grey Cup record for the most put up in the final period, according to CFL Stats. The last team to score 24 points in the fourth quarter was the Argos, who did it in 1938 against Winnipeg.
The title is the Argos' league-record 19th championship. The franchise has won each of its last eight Grey Cup appearances since 1991 and has never lost a title game with general manager and franchise icon Michael "Pinball" Clemons in the organization. Toronto also improved to 8-0 in Grey Cup contests against the Blue Bombers.
Although Argos quarterback Nick Arbuckle was named Grey Cup MVP, the defense carried the team to victory. The Boatmen picked off Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros four times to tie a single-game Grey Cup record, according to CFL Stats. They also set a new Grey Cup record with 164 interception return yards, shattering the old mark of 88.
Defensive back Robert Priester put the game away with a 61-yard pick-6 late in the fourth. His return was the second-longest pick-6 in Grey Cup history and third-longest interception return in a championship game.
Wynton McManis, DaShaun Amos, and Benjie Franklin also hauled in interceptions during the victory. Franklin's pick in the second quarter was his fourth INT in three playoff games this year.
Although the Argos' vaunted defensive line sacked Collaros only once, the defense held Winnipeg to 283 net offensive yards.
"We knew from actually the beginning of the season this was our destiny," McManis said postgame on TSN. "Don't ride the wave, don't never be too high, never be too low. For us, it's just stay the course."
Collaros threw for 202 yards but failed to find the end zone for a third straight Grey Cup game. He was also hampered by a cut finger on his throwing hand late in the third quarter that forced him to the locker room for a series before he returned wearing a glove. Collaros threw three of his four picks while his throwing hand was gloved.
"Obviously, disappointed. Things kind of snowballed there," Collaros said about the cut. "It was just a tough situation."
The two-time Most Outstanding Player is the third QB to throw four picks in a Grey Cup game, joining Montreal's Sam Etcheverry in 1956 and Edmonton's Bruce Lemmerman in 1977.
Newly-crowned MOP Brady Oliveira rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. But the Argos did a great job containing him overall considering almost half of Oliveira's 84 yards came from one 35-yard gain.
The contest began as a tight defensive battle, with Winnipeg taking a 10-9 lead into halftime. Things began turning in Toronto's favor early in the third quarter when Blue Bombers returner Lucky Whitehead fumbled a punt back into the Argos' hands at Winnipeg's 17-yard line. On the next play, Arbuckle found slotback Kevin Mital for what ended up as the go-ahead touchdown.
The Blue Bombers were playing in their fifth straight Grey Cup but lost the last two after winning consecutive titles in 2019 and '21. Instead, they became the first team since the 1954-56 Alouettes to lose three straight Grey Cup games.