The Ottawa Redblacks are winless no more. Rookie quarterback Bryson Barnes led Ottawa to a 40-39 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night at TD Place, snapping a modern-day CFL record 22-game losing streak.
Making his first CFL start, Barnes completed 27 of 37 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and added 62 rushing yards. Ottawa, now 1-16, had not won since September 5, 2025, and avoided the threat of becoming the first team in CFL history to finish a season 0-18.
The finish was frantic. Toronto took a 39-33 lead with 30 seconds left on Isaiah Smith's touchdown run and a two-point conversion, after Ottawa's Kahzir Brown interception had briefly seemed to seal it. Barnes answered with a three-play drive, hitting Ayden Eberhardt for a 24-yard touchdown, and Paul Geelen's convert with six seconds remaining put Ottawa ahead for good. Eberhardt finished with nine catches for 101 yards and two scores.
Toronto, 9-8 and already locked into second place in the East, lost starting quarterback Chad Kelly to injury in the first quarter. Backup Nick Arbuckle threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns in relief. Toronto hosts Montreal on October 23, while Ottawa closes its season October 24 in Hamilton.
