B.C. Lions derailed 25-14 by road warrior Argonauts, showing issues

The B.C. Lions got off to the CFL's hottest start with wins over Calgary and Hamilton, but they suffered their first loss of the season Friday night, falling 25-14 at home to the Toronto Argonauts. It was an impressive win for the Argonauts, their second-straight victory on the road, and they did a lot right in order to get the win here. However, this loss also says a fair bit about the issues the Lions still face.

First, let's start with Toronto. Quarterback Ricky Ray had his best game of the season so far, completing 23 of his 33 passes (69.7 per cent) for 283 yards with a touchdown, and running back Brandon Whitaker had a great all-around night, collecting 97 rushing yards on 13 carries (7.5 yards per attempt) and adding 55 receiving yards on seven catches. Receivers Tori Gurley (97 yards and a touchdown on five catches), Vidal Hazelton (61 yards on three catches) and Andre Durie (57 yards on four catches) all shone too, and that's a great sign for the Argonauts' offence, which was pretty anemic through their first two games.

The Toronto defence also had a stout game, building off what they did against Saskatchewan last week. They held B.C. quarterback Jon Jennings to 132 passing yards with 11 completions on 18 attempts (61.1 per cent), no touchdowns and one interception, and while replacement Travis Lulay did better (12 completions on 15 attempts, 80 per cent, 156 yards, one touchdown and one interception), his showing was too little, too late. The Argos also notched four sacks, and the biggest thing was the turnovers; they came up with two interceptions (from Keon Raymond and T.J. Heath) and two fumble recoveries (from Raymond and Justin Hickman). The Toronto special teams came through as well, with Lirim Hajrullahu nailing six of seven field goal attempts and averaging 40.8 yards on six punts and Larry Taylor collecting 168 return yards on nine combined attempts.

Still, a lot of this was about the Lions perhaps returning to earth. Their passing offence was far from overwhelming even in their wins, and it looked downright bad Thursday night before Lulay came in. Granted, there were some dropped balls from receivers, but Jennings' accuracy seemed off all night, and the line wasn't giving him great protection either. The ground game was good, with Anthony Allen collecting 107 rushing yards on 16 carries (6.7 yards per attempt), but it can't carry this team on its own, especially when the defence has what for it is an off night. It's not a crisis in B.C. yet, obviously, as 2-1 is far ahead of where most figured the Lions would be at this point, and it may not even be a quarterback controversy right now, but if Jennings doesn't improve quickly, one could develop. The B.C. defence is impressive, and they look to have a solid ground game, but that isn't usually enough to win in this league. We'll see if they can pull their passing offence into form as well.