VANCOUVER – The BC Lions came out on top with a 27-22 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday evening. Nathan Rourke ran in for two scores and threw for another at home as the Lions inched closer to securing a playoff berth.
It wasn’t the high-scoring shootout that BC and Toronto treated fans to back in Week 12. This time it was the BC defence stepping up as they kept Toronto out of the end zone through three quarters and subdued the output of Nick Arbuckle after he torched the Lions in their previous meeting.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the BC Lions’ win over the Toronto Argonauts.
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2 – TORONTO RED ZONE TRIPS
The Argonauts’ offence was stifled by BC through most of Friday’s contest, resulting in just two trips to the red zone for the visiting squad at Save-on-Foods Field at BC Place.
BC didn’t allow Toronto to establish a run game and kept their opponent to just one big play. Because of that, Toronto had to lean on the accurate kicking of Lirim Hajrullahu, who nailed all five of his field goal attempts, with three of those coming from 50 yards out.
4 – BC SACKS
Another reason as to why Toronto couldn’t make their way into the red zone with more regularity is because BC’s pass rush had Arbuckle under pressure on numerous occasions.
BC finished with four sacks on Arbuckle, with two of those resulting in a fumble. Mathieu Betts had three sacks himself, including an important strip sack in the fourth which sealed the win for BC.
9 – NATHAN ROURKE RUSH ATTEMPTS
James Butler returned to BC’s lineup after missing Week 16 through injury, but it was Rourke who finished as BC’s busiest runner on Friday.
Rourke set a new season high with nine carries, taking them for 31 yards and two touchdowns. BC’s quarterback put his body on the line to pick up scores and first downs, keeping Toronto’s defenders on their toes all game long.