WINNIPEG -- True to form, the Argonauts came up with a turkey on Thanksgiving weekend.
Requiring a victory to keep their tiny playoff hopes alive, the Argos knocked the stuffing out of themselves with a variety of errors in a 25-16 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before a crowd of 27,268 on a chilly night at CanadInns Stadium.
The Bombers, in second place in the East Division, are four points up on the Argos with three games left for each club.
So it's all but certain the Argos will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001. They're still alive in a praying-to-God-on-their-deathbed sort of way. In order to get to the post-season, Toronto would have to win its final three games against Montreal, B.C. and Saskatchewan, while the Bombers would have to lose to Calgary, Montreal and Hamilton. In other words, start making plans for 2009.
The Argos have lost six in a row, including the past five after the hiring of head coach Don Matthews and the firing of Rich Stubler and it's quite possible they won't win again this season. Because of the result, the Edmonton Eskimos clinched a crossover playoff berth and Winnipeg is all but assured of playing host to the East semi-final next month.
"You get paid for 18 games, that's what it says on your contract," Argos defensive end Jonathan Brown said in a deathly quiet locker room. "So if I see anybody loafing (in the final three games), I will take their ass outside and fight them.
"Three games left and nobody is quitting. It's just a bummer, because we have the team to beat these guys and it didn't happen. Give credit to Winnipeg because they won."
There was no lacking in the Argos' effort, although the time is long gone for feel-good angles. Quarterback Kerry Joseph passed for 311 yards, his third-highest total in what has been a season from hell, and receiver P.K. Sam did what Matthews figured he would, leading the Argos with 145 receiving yards.
Rookie defensive back Jason Shivers, who should be a full-time starter next season, recorded his first two CFL interceptions.
But there were three fumbles, all recovered by Winnipeg, Joseph was sacked four times and the defence could not stop the Bombers' running tandem of Fred Reid, who had 106 rushing yards, and Joe Smith, who had 101, including a touchdown with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. Failure by the offence to execute for touchdowns, a sore spot all season, didn't help. A 62-yard gain by Keith Stokes early in the game took the Argos deep into Bombers territory but only a field goal came of it. Jamal Robertson had the lone touchdown.
Mike Vanderjagt shanked a 24-yard field-goal attempt on the penultimate play of the third quarter, and had he made it, would have provided a boost of confidence and a 17-16 Argos lead.
"We continue to hurt ourselves," Matthews said. "The sad part about it is, the people are fighting for extra yards when they are trying to make things happen. When we did not have the ability to stop the run and it hurt us.
"But nothing changes. Until they put me in the ground, it is possible (to make the playoffs)."
With a 16-14 lead after Vanderjagt hit a 39-yarder with 10 minutes remaining, the Argos barely had taken control when Arland Bruce fumbled at the Toronto 35 on a punt return. The Bombers' Pierre-Luc Labbe recovered, and a few plays later, Alexis Serna booted a 34-yard field goal to regain a one-point lead for the home side. Smith's touchdown iced it.
"I let my teammates down and that is the worst kind of pain," said linebacker Mike O'Shea, trying to take blame for the inability to stop the run. "We had a chance to stop them at the end and we did not do it."
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ARGOS REPLAY
RECAP
Mistakes and a sub-par offence, issues that have plagued the Argonauts all season, were the deciding factors in what amounted to the final important game of the season for the Boatmen. Time to play out the string.
INJURIES MOUNT
Already without Dominique Dorsey, the Argos lost his replacement, Keith Stokes, in the first half with what appeared to be a leg injury. In the second half, linebacker Jean-Nicolas Carriere had to be driven off the field on a cart after he suffered a right leg injury.
EIBEN ABSENT
Argos linebacker Kevin Eiben didn't make the trip west because he hurt a foot earlier in the week. Eiben had started the pervious six games. With Eiben out, Mike O'Shea was back to taking a regular turn on defence.
QUOTE/UNQUOTE
"The players seem to be in touch, I am in touch with them. They laugh at my jokes. All my old lines are still good."
-- Argos head coach Don Matthews on his return to the sideline, now five games and counting
