Catch LeFevour: Dan LeFevour gets first win in two years, gives Argos QB hope

Sunday was a storybook day for Toronto Argonauts' quarterback Dan LeFevour, who picked up his first win in 778 days over the team he got the last one for. That would be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who came back from a 20-point deficit to beat Toronto 49-36 last week, but couldn't do enough this day and fell 33-21. LeFevour had a lot to do with that, and this both continued his remarkable comeback story and gave the Argonauts some hope going forward. (Update: Despite LeFevour's play, they opted to spend big on a trade for Drew Willy Sunday night, so it's unclear how he'll fit into their QB plans going forward.)

It's been quite the few years for LeFevour, who had an outstanding college career with Central Michigan and a couple brief stints in the NFL before coming to the CFL in 2012. He earned a spot in Hamilton's run-focused packages in 2013, and was briefly the Ticats' starter the next year after Henry Burris was released, Zach Collaros was injured and Jeremiah Masoli was ineffective, earning his last CFL win as a starter July 26, 2014 against Ottawa. LeFevour tore his ACL that August, though, and was knocked out for the season. He signed as a free agent with Montreal in 2015, but dislocated his shoulder that June and was knocked out for the year; the Alouettes released him in the offseason, and there didn't seem to be many CFL takers.

LeFevour's old OC at Central Michigan, Mike Bajakian, is now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterbacks coach, though, and he may have played a role in getting that NFL team to sign LeFevour. LeFevour impressed in their offseason workouts, and although he didn't last through camp, that may have put him back on the CFL radar. The Argos signed him to their practice squad August 8, and he quickly worked his way up the ranks, earning the chance to start Sunday after Ricky Ray got hurt last week.

It was an opportunity LeFevour made the most of, completing 27 of 36 passes (75 per cent) for 329 yards and a touchdown and rushing for another 39 yards on 10 carries. He did have two interceptions, which came on back-to-back plays and helped put the Ticats into the lead (after they trailed 13-0 early on), but settled down after that and put them away with a 17-point third quarter. LeFevour's mobility and rushing ability also distracted the Hamilton defence, paving the way for a great showing by Brandon Whitaker, who had 75 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, including one on a superb fake run and pitch by LeFevour. The Argos' defence also did a great job of buckling down, holding Collaros to a 56.4 per cent completion rate and picking him off twice.

Still, this win was largely about LeFevour's performance, and that should give Toronto fans a lot of hope. If he can keep playing this way, their four to six weeks without Ray may not be as rough as initially thought. A string of good performances could also set LeFevour up with a CFL job for years to come. This is just one game, so it isn't necessarily indicative of how he'll do in future weeks, but if he keeps playing this way, he could be a very good fit for the Argos indeed.