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Lirim Hajrullahu delivered the decisive moment for the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, drilling a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game to secure a 26-23 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks at BMO Field. The win pushed Toronto’s record to 7-6, while Ottawa fell to a winless 0-12 on the season.
Hajrullahu’s game-winning boot capped a remarkable 12-play, 74-yard drive. Toronto took possession at its own 14-yard line with just 2:25 remaining. The Argonauts marched the length of the field and left no time for Ottawa to respond.
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Kelly Leads Toronto’s Offence
Quarterback Chad Kelly was outstanding throughout the contest. He completed 35 of 42 passes for 443 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers pushed his season touchdown total to a CFL-leading 29. However, Kelly also threw two interceptions, bringing his league-leading total to 20 on the year.
One of Kelly’s touchdown passes came early in the fourth quarter. He connected with Damonte Coxie on a 21-yard strike to give Toronto a 23-17 lead. Ottawa’s defensive lineman Luiji Vilain blocked the convert attempt. David Ungerer III also scored for the Argonauts, catching a 34-yard touchdown pass from Kelly in the third quarter.
Hajrullahu contributed significantly beyond his game-winner. He added four field goals, a single and a convert. His scoring began just 12 seconds into the first quarter, when a 98-yard kickoff produced a single. He then added a 25-yard field goal at 8:10 of the first quarter to give Toronto an early 4-0 advantage.
Ottawa’s Misery Continues
The loss extended Ottawa’s winless streak to 18 consecutive games, dating back to 2025. That run sets a modern-era CFL record for consecutive defeats. Despite adding 12 new players to the active roster for Saturday’s game — including 11 on defence — the Redblacks could not end their prolonged slump.
Ottawa starter Jake Maier also extended a troubling personal record. He suffered his 12th straight loss as a starting quarterback to begin a season, setting a new CFL mark. Maier completed just seven of 10 passes for 42 yards before head coach Ryan Dinwiddie replaced him with McLeod Bethel-Thompson in the second quarter.
Bethel-Thompson, a two-time Grey Cup champion with Toronto in 2017 and 2024, performed considerably better in relief. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. Bethel-Thompson also engineered the 70-yard, 13-play drive that led to Bryson Barnes’ one-yard touchdown run, which briefly gave Ottawa a 7-4 lead. Later, he found Keelan White on a 28-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter.
Ottawa kicker Brett Lauther kept the Redblacks competitive throughout. He converted both touchdowns and added three field goals, including a 21-yard kick at 10:09 of the fourth quarter that tied the game at 23-23. That scoring drive followed Kalil Pimpleton’s 88-yard punt return to the Toronto 17-yard line, which energized the Ottawa offence momentarily.
Dinwiddie Returns to BMO Field
Saturday’s game carried extra significance for Ottawa head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. It marked his first visit to BMO Field since leaving Toronto to take the Ottawa job. Dinwiddie spent five seasons as the Argonauts’ head coach. During that time, he led Toronto to a 51-35 overall record and a 30-13 mark at BMO Field. He also guided the team to four playoff appearances, two Grey Cup titles in 2022 and 2024, and earned CFL Coach of the Year honours in 2023 after a club-record 16-win season.
Despite the sentimental backdrop, Ottawa’s struggles overshadowed the occasion. Toronto earned its fifth win in its last six meetings against the Redblacks. King Ambers had given Ottawa hope earlier in the game, recording two interceptions that halted promising Argonauts drives. His first pick ended an 11-play, 68-yard Toronto march at the Ottawa 12-yard line in the first quarter. His second came in the Redblacks’ end zone in the second quarter. However, those turnovers ultimately proved insufficient as Hajrullahu’s late heroics sealed the result in front of a BMO Field crowd of 12,494.
