The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will look to cement themselves as a dynasty as they look to win their third Grey Cup in 5 years after recently becoming the 4th team in CFL history to make it to 5 straight Grey Cups. The Toronto Argonauts will aim to win their 2nd Grey Cup in 3 years. Toronto narrowly defeated Winnipeg in the 2022 Grey Cup 24-23 in Regina.

The Grey Cup will air on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada. In the United States the game will air on CBS Sports Network. The game will be streamable for free for the rest of the globe on CFL Plus.

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Toronto Argonauts (10-8) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7)

Sunday, November 17, 6:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM CT), Vancouver, BC, CTV, TSN, RDS (Canada), CBS SN (USA), CFL+ (Global)

Commitment to the Run

The run game will be crucial in who wins this contest with both teams being committed to the run over the season. Winnipeg’s running back Brady Oliveira led the league in the regular season after rushing 239 times for 1,353 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and 3 touchdowns and was recently named this year’s Most Outstanding Player. Toronto’s runningback Ka’Deem Carey finished third in rushing in the regular season after rushing 191 times for 1,060 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns. The performance from the linebacking groups in run defense will be imperative in the outcome of this match particularly on middle linebackers Tony Jones for Winnipeg and Wynton McManis for Toronto.

Winnipeg’s Offensive Performance Last Week

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers overcame a 2-6 start to their season to battle back and finish 1st in the West with an 11-7 record. Last week saw them defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders at home 38-22 in the Western Final. Zach Collaros completed 19 of his 26 passes for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. Kenny Lawler tore up the Riders secondary catching 4 passes for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns with Nic Demski adding 8 receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Brady Oliveira rushed 20 times for 119 yards and a touchdown.

The Toronto Argonauts began the year without their starting quarterback Chad Kelly due to a 9-game suspension who was named the Most Outstanding Player in 2023. Toronto won last week on the road in Montreal 30-28 in the Eastern Final but lost Chad Kelly due to a broken leg late in the game. Now Nick Arbuckle will get the start in the Grey Cup. Arbuckle came into the game late and completed 5 of his 8 passes for 73 yards with his final pass drawing a defensive pass interference call that sealed the victory for the Argos. Arbuckle will have a tough matchup against a Winnipeg secondary that held their opponents to the lowest QBR rating over the regular season. Damonte Coxie led the Argos in receiving as he caught all 5 of his targets for 105 yards and a touchdown. Makai Polk caught 6 passes for 72 yards. On the ground, Ka’Deem Carey rushed 12 times for 92 yards in the win.

A note on Zach Collaros

This year we have seen a bit of a reverse of a trend regarding Zach Collaros. Over the 2021 through 2023 seasons, he amassed 90 touchdown passes over 49 regular season games with 34 interceptions. We have however seen a drop in his touchdown to interception ratio in the playoffs in seasons past with Winnipeg as he has played in 8 postseason games for the Bombers heading into this year and accumulated 6 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. One possible explanation for a drop in production could potentially be the increase in cold weather games late in the season. If the cold weather played a part in slowing Collaros down in the past then the fact that this game is played in BC Place’s dome will only help the Bombers’ cause.

This past season he had only 17 touchdowns with 15 interceptions over 17 starts in the regular season which was a sharp drop in touchdown production. However, we saw his production greatly spike in the recent Western Final in his 4-touchdown performance. If he can continue to build on what has been his best start to a postseason as a Blue Bomber then Winnipeg will be very dangerous. Toronto has a talented cast of pass rushers like Jake Ceresna, Robbie Smith, Ralph Holley, and Folarin Orimolade, and Winnipeg’s offensive line will need to keep away from Collaros.