OTTAWA — Bryson Barnes found Ayden Eberhardt for a 24-yard touchdown with six seconds remaining as the Ottawa Redblacks beat the Toronto Argonauts 40–39 at TD Place Stadium on Friday, October 16.

The result gave Ottawa its first victory after an 0–16 start, with a rookie quarterback making his first CFL start.

A final drive changes the result

Toronto had gone ahead 39–33 on Isaiah Smith’s four-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds left. Barnes then directed a 67-yard possession that took just 24 seconds, ending with Eberhardt’s second touchdown catch of the fourth quarter.

The late exchange followed two Toronto touchdown passes from Nick Arbuckle to Kevin Mital, as the Argonauts erased an earlier Ottawa advantage.

Barnes produces through the air and on the ground

The league’s statistical report credits Barnes with 27 completions on 37 attempts for 339 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. He also ran seven times for 62 yards, giving him 401 combined passing and rushing yards.

Eberhardt finished with nine catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Adeboboye added two rushing scores against his former team, despite being held to 17 yards on 10 carries.

Those performances gave Ottawa several ways to finish drives: Barnes extending plays, Eberhardt providing a receiving target and Adeboboye converting near the goal line.

Toronto loses Kelly during the game

Argonauts starter Chad Kelly left with a lower-body injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game, according to the CFL recap. Arbuckle replaced him. That account does not establish a diagnosis or Kelly’s availability for Toronto’s next game.

Ottawa closes its season on the road against Hamilton in Week 21. Toronto returns home for its finale against Montreal.

Sources: CFL full game recap and scoring sequence, October 16; CFL statistical report, October 16.

TD Place Stadium in a September 16, 2022 file photograph by Harleyd613 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; resized. Not a photograph of the October 16 game.