Nick Arbuckle throws three TD passes, scores another to lead Argos past Lions

Toronto Argonauts quarterback Nick Arbuckle (4) passes during first half CFL action against the B.C. Lions in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Sammy Kogan / The Canadian Press)

For Nick Arbuckle, the score overshadowed the individual accomplishments.

Arbuckle threw for a career-high 430 yards with three touchdowns while rushing for another to lead the Toronto Argonauts to a 52-34 victory over the B.C. Lions on Saturday afternoon. That pushed Arbuckle atop the CFL passing ranks with 3,463 yards, another career milestone.

“It says a lot about our offence,” Arbuckle said. “The 52 points on the board was, I think, the biggest thing, however we get those yards.

“We lost two offensive lineman (guards Sage Doxtater and Anthony Vandal) and were still able to hit some deep shots and you can’t do that without pass protection … and then just a great game plan. It was an incredible all-around effort by everybody battling through injuries and losing Coxie (receiving leader Damonte Coxie didn’t dress due to a head injury). It’s amazing to have your best offensive game with all of those factors.”

Toronto (3-8) won for the first time in three games and improved to 2-4 at BMO Field. And the Argos did that after falling behind 14-3 after the first quarter.

“We needed a win in the worst way,” said Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “I think we needed it just to build confidence because even myself as a coach, I think I needed to see that.

“Down 14-3, those guys answered the bell, they fought back. We’ve made great plays all year, we just haven’t been able to collectively finish games and it was good to see those guys do that all together.”

And that’s important considering Toronto visits the idle Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-4) on Sept. 1 in the annual Labour Day showdown.

B.C. (5-6) heads into a bye week with its first loss in three games. The Lions visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Sept. 5.

Sean Whyte’s 14-yard field goal at 3:17 of the fourth quarter cut B.C.’s deficit to 42-33. But Arbuckle countered with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jake Herslow at 3:34 to put Toronto ahead 49-33, delighting the season-high BMO Field gathering of 18,354.

And then Branden Dozier gave the home crowd more to cheer about by recovering B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke’s fumble at the Toronto 43-yard line with just over four minutes remaining. Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis sacked Rourke to force the turnover.

Arbuckle completed 26-of-33 passes, while Herslow had five catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Toronto, which came in with the CFL’s worst ground game (48.2 yards per game), rushed for 113 yards as Spencer Brown had 85 yards and a TD on 19 carries.

“He’s only been here two weeks so he’s new to the CFL game,” Dinwiddie said. “That was good to see because I love throwing the football but I like running it more.

“We just haven’t been able to get it going yet.”

Rourke completed 20-of-31 passes for 326 yards with two TDs and an interception. Keon Hatcher Sr. had seven catches for 131 yards.

“We’re certainly not putting blame on anybody other than ourselves offensively,” Rourke said. “We know there’s some points we left out there, some plays we didn’t make.

“It’s a good defence, a good team, hats off to them. We got beat today.”

Benjie Franklin and Kevin Mital scored Toronto’s other touchdowns. Brown added a two-point convert while Lirim Hajrullahu booted three field goals and five converts.

James Butler and Jevon Cottoy had two TDs each for B.C. Whyte added three converts and two field goals while Carl Meyer had a single.

Arbuckle found Herslow on a 40-yard touchdown pass at 14:27 of the third to put Toronto ahead 42-30. Butler’s one-yard TD run on third-and-goal at 11:53 pulled B.C. to within 35-30 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful.

Brown’s three-yard TD run at 5:55 increased Toronto’s lead to 35-24. It followed Whyte’s 10-yard field goal at 3:22.

Arbuckle’s 15-yard TD pass to Mital at 14:27 gave Toronto its 28-21 halftime lead. The Argos rolled up 261 net offensive yards and 19 first downs while holding the ball for more than 18 minutes and scoring on four of its five possessions.

Franklin put Toronto ahead 21-14 with a 57-yard pick-six at 9:54 before Rourke made it 21-21 with a 20-yard TD pass to Cottoy at 11:48.

“Benjie played more aggressive,” Dinwiddie said. “I thought he’s been a little bit passive.

“Benjie has been a guy that’s been a turnover machine for us in years past. He’s got to pull his trigger like he did today, that was a big play and got us going.”

Seven McGee’s 61-yard kickoff return put B.C. at Toronto’s 36-yard line.

Toronto made it 14-14 at 7:18 on Arbuckle’s three-yard TD run before Brown rushed for the two-point convert. Hajrullahu’s 25-yard field goal just 34 seconds into the quarter cut B.C.’s lead to 14-6.

Hajrullahu opened the scoring with a 24-yard field goal at 3:46 of the first. But the Lions countered with Rourke’s 10-yard TD strike to Cottoy at 5:40 to cap their first possession before Butler ended B.C.’s second with a 16-yard TD run at 10:39.

This report by Dan Ralph of The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2025.