The Ottawa Redblacks are in unfamiliar territory as they return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Ottawa takes on the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division semi-final Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. It will mark the first time since joining the league in 2014 that the Redblacks have played a postseason game on their opponent’s home turf.
The Redblacks struggled on the road this season with a 2-7 record, but head coach Bob Dyce doesn’t see that as relevant for Saturday’s game.
“It doesn’t make a difference at all,” Dyce said. “I’ve been in this league a long time. The playoffs are a different beast. You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game and whether you’re at home or on the road it doesn’t make a difference any more. It’s about how you prepare and how you execute on game day.”
The two teams split the season series with Toronto winning the last meeting 38-31 on home field. The Redblacks fell behind 38-6 after three quarters but managed to fight back and score 25 in the fourth quarter. Dru Brown finished the game 31-for-43 for 400 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
Brown followed that game up by wrapping up the regular season throwing for 445 yards and three touchdowns in Ottawa’s 37-31 win over Hamilton that snapped a five-game losing streak.
Brown will benefit from the return of veteran receiver Justin Hardy, who missed the last three games with ankle and back issues.
Brown has provided sought-after stability under centre for Ottawa, but the 27-year-old has never started a CFL playoff game.
But he did spend the previous three seasons with Winnipeg under the tutelage of Zach Collaros. The Bombers made it to the Grey Cup in all three of those seasons, winning in 2021.
“It sounds cheesy, but honestly, it’s another game,” Brown said. “It’s the most important game because it’s the next game. Every game is important. I’ve said it a million times you guys get to step back and see the big picture, but I kind of see it just right in front of me, you know? I think that helps.”
Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly also is a relative newcomer to the CFL playoffs and is set to make only his second postseason start.
Kelly struggled in last year’s East semi-final, throwing four interceptions in a 38-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. But he was a key contributor off the bench in the Argonauts 24-23 win over Winnipeg in the 2022 Grey Cup final, including a 20-yard run that set up the winning touchdown.
Ottawa will have its work cut out for them facing Toronto’s pass rush that led the league with 48 sacks.
“Our offensive line looks at it as a personal challenge,” said Dyce. “Obviously there’s different things in how you protect and different drops and how you move in the pocket and different things like that. At the end of the day, you’ve got to block them.”
Toronto will have its own challenges dealing with Ottawa’s defensive linemen Michael Wakefield and Lorenzo Mauldin IV, who each had eight sacks and will be eager to make Kelly’s day difficult.
Kelly, last season’s outstanding player, comes into the game as the CFL’s top-performing offensive player for October, when he had 534 passing yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions over two wins.
“He’s had a really sharp week,” Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said of Kelly while speaking to reporters Friday in Toronto. “I expect him to have a big game. He doesn’t have to be a superhero, he’s just got to manage the football game and put us in good spots to be successful.”
Ottawa’s running game could be a factor as it left much to be desired at times this season, finishing last in the league averaging 83.7 yards-per-game.
Only eight players from the Redblacks’ 2018 roster, which reached the Grey Cup before falling to Calgary, remain with the team. Among them is kicker Lewis Ward, who has been a crucial asset for Ottawa this season connecting on 87.9 per cent of his field goal tries, including going 3-for-3 on walk-off winning field goal attempts.