Ryan Dinwiddie was all-encompassing when asked for the greatest disappointment from his second loss as head coach of the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday. The Toronto Argonauts handed Ottawa a 44-24 defeat at TD Place, dropping the Redblacks to 0-2 on the season.
Dinwiddie Laments All-Around Struggles
“The missed tackling on defence, not executing on offence, and we didn’t execute that great on special teams, either,” Dinwiddie said after the pounding from his former team. “Yeah, it’s frustrating. We’re not playing really good football right now.”
The loss marked the second straight defeat for Ottawa, who have now been outscored by a combined margin of 44-24 in their first two games. Dinwiddie, a former Argonauts assistant, saw his team struggle in all three phases as Toronto built a commanding lead.
Chad Kelly Shines in Comeback
Dinwiddie did get to see his friend and former quarterback, Chad Kelly, continue his road back to brilliance after being sidelined for the entire 2025 CFL season with a badly broken leg. Kelly threw more balls (four) into the hands of Redblacks defenders than he did into the ground (three) while completing 25 of 32 passes for 424 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Through two games of his comeback, the two-time Grey Cup champion and the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2023 has racked up 869 passing yards and seven touchdown throws. “The first win (back) feels good,” Kelly said. “Definitely builds confidence.”
Argos Add Final Field Goal
The Argos were already leading by 17 when Lirim Hajrullahu was sent out to successfully boot a 43-yard field goal as the clock hit zero. Toronto head coach Mike Miller made sure he told Dinwiddie, his long-time pal, that he piled on only in case a tie-breaker is needed should the teams have identical records at the conclusion of the regular season.
“Mike’s new to the league … When you’re playing three games (against each other), the points really don’t matter,” Dinwiddie said. “But I’m not worried about that. We’ve got to put a better performance out there, just that’s what it is.”
Redblacks Look to Rebound
Dinwiddie must be under the assumption that head-to-head records is the first tie-breaker, but winning percentage is. Points differential is the second. “This is professional football,” said Redblacks backup safety Scott Hutter, who filled in for Alonzo Addae after the latter was injured (upper body) and wound up with two interceptions. “If you get your feelings hurt for something like that, then you’d be doing something else.”
The Redblacks will need to address their defensive tackling and offensive execution as they prepare for their next game. With a 0-2 start, the pressure is mounting on Dinwiddie’s squad to turn things around quickly.
