Joseph scored on a 13-yard run with 23 seconds remaining to rally the Argos to an improbable 35-31 win over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday. Joseph marched Toronto 109 yards on 11 plays on its decisive march for a split of the home-and-home series.

Edmonton (2-2) beat Toronto (2-2) in last week’s game 47-28 at Commonwealth Stadium.

“That last drive was a statement drive for us,” Joseph said. “To go 109 yards in about a minute is big.

“It just shows what we can get done when we all collectively come together. We can’t have one guy making a mistake and the other 11 doing it right. We need to have all 12 being on the same page.”

Toronto moved into a first-place tie in the East Division with Montreal. The Eskimos remain tied for third in the West with B.C.

Before a Rogers Centre gathering of 28,522, Joseph showed the form that last year made him the CFL’s top rushing quarterback and the league’s outstanding player as he led Saskatchewan to the Grey Cup. He finished 22-of-38 passing for 343 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a game-high 118 yards and a TD.

Joseph became the first Toronto quarterback to pass for more than 300 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in a game since Doug Flutie in 1997. And the much-maligned Argos offence rolled up an impressive 544 total yards.

“I told Kerry to put the team on his shoulders and he did,” said Argos head coach Rich Stubler. “I thought he did a damn good job and called his own number when he had to.

“We have to let Kerry Joseph play. We can’t harness him and he played the game like it’s meant to be played.”

Joseph did have some help, though.

On the game-winning drive, he completed six-of-eight passes for 85 yards. Five of those completions went to newcomer Tyler Scott, who finished with six catches for 89 yards. Receiver James Robinson also had a brilliant game with 10 catches for 194 yards and a TD.

“Our receivers and running backs played well but Kerry was the key,” Scott said.

Added Robinson: “When you have a quarterback who can run, it opens a lot in the passing game. This is doing it the hard way but we know if we get in that situation again we can perform.”

Joseph’s performance was by far his best as an Argo, and he credited that to telling himself before the opening kickoff to simply go out and have fun. And doing so on the eighth anniversary of the death of his father, Donald, was both paramount and special for the 34-year-old.

“It was a special day for me … and I knew he would want me to go out and have fun,” Joseph said. “That’s what I wanted to do.

“I told my mother this morning I was going to go out and enjoy it and let it all hang out and see what happens. It was a great win. When we put forth a total effort as a team this is what we can do but we can get better.”

The loss tarnished a stellar 94-yard kickoff return TD by Edmonton’s Tristan Jackson in the first half. Then in the fourth quarter, Eskimos defensive lineman Fred Perry left the turf on a golf cart after suffering a dislocated ankle when a player rolled up on his leg.

The injury, and subsequent Argos comeback, left Edmonton coach Danny Maciocia lost for words to explain the emotional roller-coaster his team endured in the final quarter.

“I’m still trying to figure out the game,” he said. “We couldn’t make plays when we had to make plays.

“We’ve got them pinned on the (one-yard line) but we couldn’t stop them. There were times offensively when we turned the ball over in the red zone where we gave precious points away.”

Jackson heaped lavish praise on Edmonton’s kickoff return team for his TD, but the speedy defensive back shouldered the blame for Toronto’s game-winning drive.

“He (Joseph) had a great game,” Jackson said. “(Early in final drive) we played a lot of zone and were giving it up.

“Then, the last one that Scott caught (a 22-yard reception that put Toronto on Edmonton’s 13-yard line) was all my fault. We’ve got a young team. I’m not using that as an excuse, we’ve just got to learn to put these games away.”

Fred Stamps and Mathieu Bertrand had Edmonton’s other touchdowns. Noel Prefontaine added three field goals, three converts and a single.

Jeff Johnson scored Toronto’s other TD. Mike Vanderjagt added three converts, two field goals and single.

NOTES - Cornerback Willie Middlebrooks returned to Toronto’s lineup Sunday after missing last week’s loss in Edmonton with a foot injury. However, receiver Andre Talbot was a late scratch …Toronto’s win was the first for an East Division team this year against a West Division rival. The West still has a commanding 7-1 mark in head-to-head contests … The Argos conducted the pre-game introductions with each player coming out with their son or daughter as part of their Kids Day promotion … Toronto also paid a video tribute to Bob Ackles, the former B.C. Lions president who recently passed away.