This wasn’t supposed to be Nick Arbuckle’s moment.
The 31-year-old quarterback was turned into a CFL journeyman, changing teams in each of the past five seasons, and he’s only played north of the border for six years while owning a negative touchdown touchdown-to-interception ratio in his career — making his performance on this Grey Cup Sunday all the more legendary.
Arbuckle stepped into the limelight with poise and confidence, giving the Toronto Argonauts exactly what they needed from the sport’s most important position on the way to a 41-24 championship-clinching victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Arbuckle threw for 252 yards, two touchdowns and completed 26 of his 37 pass attempts, en route to earning Grey Cup MVP honours.
Taking the stage with both of his children to accept the trophy, Arbuckle admitted he was “a few weeks away from calling it quits” when the opportunity to join the Argonauts for a second time in his career came up.
“It makes me appreciate the journey so much because all the things I went through and all the things I learned, the tough times, the good times, the players and coaches that I was blessed to be with at each stop along the way all taught me so much and prepared me for this moment and for this team,” Arbuckle said. “To be the best person, player, teammate, leader, dad, husband that I could possibly be… I couldn’t have done this at any other time in my life.”
His first passing score came in the third quarter, with the game tied at 10. Arbuckle faked a handoff and hit Kevin Mital on a screen just past Toronto’s 20-yard line before the receiver scampered past two Winnipeg defenders and into the end zone.
Arbuckle’s second touchdown marked the moment it became evident that the Argonauts were on the precipice of pulling off the upset. Up 17-16, the quarterback dropped back and found the game’s Most Outstanding Canadian, Dejon Brissett, just over the goal line for a 17-yard completion.
After losing Chad Kelly to a broken ankle in the East Final, Arbuckle was thrust into the starting role this week with everything on the line.
In the regular season, he served as the Argonauts’ primary QB in three contests and totalled 799 passing yards and four touchdowns over the five games in which he threw a pass.
