Toronto Argonauts’ DeShaun Amos: “We still have that sour taste from last year”

The Toronto Argonauts will be looking to play for some redemption when they begin their trip to the CFL playoffs on Saturday.

Last year, the Argonauts tied the best record in CFL history at 16-2 and entered the Eastern finals as the heavy favorites over the Montreal Alouettes.

The Argonauts committed five turnovers in the game and were stunned in a 38-17 loss to the eventual Gray Cup-winning Alouettes.

As the team heads into this year’s Eastern Semifinal against the Ottawa Redblacks, Argonauts defenseman DeShaun Amos made it very clear that they have not forgotten their failure from last year.

“(Last year’s loss) keeps us humble,” Amos told TSN1050’s First Up on Friday. “We were 16-2 and heavy favorites to win the Gray Cup. We haven’t really had much setbacks.

“This year has probably been the most adversity we’ve faced since Ryan Dinwiddie took over as coach. We are hungry, ready to play and still have that sour taste from last year.”

Amos has been nominated by the Argonauts for Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the 2024 season. The 30-year-old defenseman recorded 25 defensive tackles with five interceptions and one touchdown in 18 games this season.

He acknowledges the Argonauts will have to be at their best against a Redblacks team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2018.

“It’s the first time they’ve been in the playoffs in a long time, so they’re hungry and they’re going to do everything they can to be the best they can be,” Amos said. “They are a great team that makes a lot of movement in attack and tests your discipline throughout the match.

“We’re preparing for whatever they can throw our way.”

Toronto finished the season as the second-best team in the East with a 10–8 record. The two teams split their two-game season series, with the Redblacks defeating the Argonauts 41-27 in Week 14 before Toronto turned around to win 38-31 on October 19.

The Redblacks were in second position in the East for most of the season, but a five-game losing streak allowed the Argonauts to overtake them. Ottawa managed to snap their skid last week against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but still has something to prove in the playoffs.

In their most recent game, the Argonauts led 38-6 entering the fourth quarter but allowed Ottawa to recover three onside kicks to come within a touchdown of tying, making Argonaut fans nervous.

“We can’t just show up and win, so we have to play lower and lower every quarter,” Amos said. “It lasts 60 minutes and sometimes there are more than that, so we are ready to play a full match. The boys have been working all week to hone the details and compete with ourselves because it’s about us and our play comes tomorrow.”