Ricky Ray and the Argos down the Bombers 38-21, add to their lead at the top of the East

One of the East Division'sstruggling teams may be starting to return to respectability. The Toronto Argonauts improved to 3-4 on the year with an emphatic 38-21 destruction of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-2 heading into the night) Tuesday, and that may prove to be a crucial win for them. Not only was it their second-straight game scoring over 30 points (they beat Montreal 31-5 two weeks ago before a bye), it reinforced how impressive their offence is, and it gave them a two-game lead on the rest of their division rivals. Unsurprisingly, the man who deserved the biggest share of the credit Tuesday was the same one who's been so key to this team's resurgence since 2012: quarterback Ricky Ray.

Although this is a quarterback-driven league, the Argos' struggles this season really haven't been about Ray. Heading into Tuesday's game, he'd thrown for 1,687 yards (third in the league, behind two quarterbacks who'd played one more game each) with a 68.1 per cent completion mark, and he had the Toronto offence leading the league in yardage per game, passing yards per game and completion percentage. That was a big reason why the Argonauts (and to a lesser extent, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) didn't look quite as bad as the rest of the division even before Tuesday's game. Ray was particularly good Tuesday, though, throwing for 297 yards with a 78.8 per cent completion rate, and he did that despite Toronto having its entire preferred lineup of starting receivers injured. Perhaps most importantly, Ray was able to find ways to get his receivers into the end zone in this one, tossing four touchdown passes. The Argos have too often had to settle for field goals this year, but they didn't against the Bombers.

The Argos have received good performances from Ray without winning this year, though, so a couple of other factors were also important. The defence turned in a terrific showing, holding Winnipeg QB Drew Willy to 193 yards (with 48 of those coming on a final-drive pass to Clarence Denmark). The Toronto ground game also contributed Tuesday, with Curtis Steele (10 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown) making a notable impact. This Argos' squad is starting to look more like the team that won the 2012 Grey Cup and was first in the East in 2013 than the group that got off to a 1-4 start this year.

Meanwhile, the Bombers will have some questions to answer coming out of this one. It was the second-straight week of offensive struggles for them, and Willy, who looked so good to start the season, was the primary culprit in last week's 23-17 loss to Saskatchewan thanks to his late turnovers. This one wasn't all about him, as the Toronto defence did a great job of containing his receivers and he still managed to be efficient and throw for two touchdowns while avoiding turnovers, but the Bombers will need much more passing yardage from him to get back to their winning ways. They'll need to use the run game more consistently, too; Nic Grigsby had 66 rushing yards and a touchdown, but only got seven carries. Winnipeg's now lost two in a row, and before that, they only edged Hamilton by one point. It's far from a crisis there yet, but this offence will have to get back in gear if the Bombers are going to be a real contender this year.