A team loses by 23 points after scoring the first eight points before the offence even takes to the field and all seems lost, one of those lost causes with no immediate answer for all that went wrong.

That’s the ugly reality the Argos are now faced with following their 46-23 setback to Edmonton on Saturday afternoon, a game head coach Scott Milanovich would describe as the most disappointing loss he’s experienced in quite some time.

No loss is bigger than when a team plays for a championship, but given how the Argos entered the game well-rested, had practised well leading up to kickoff and had some of their injured pieces back, it did leave a sour taste, a feeling that will linger well into the week as the Argos get a few days off to lick their wounds before they tee it up again on Aug. 31 against visiting B.C.

Getting quarterback Ricky Ray back will help, that much is sure, but no one knows how long Ray can play without experiencing another injury.

Logan Kilgore has thrown 10 interceptions, unable to do much of anything in his third, and likely final start, on Saturday.

His replacement, Cody Fajardo, hurt his throwing arm when he dove for the pylon on a rushing major and is out indefinitely, or at least until the Argos have their next availability, likely later in the week, and an update is provided.

Adrian McPherson was under siege when asked to mop up.

Even if you’re a devout supporter of the team, it’s not hard to see how fragile the quarterback position has become and how limited the options now appear.

The Argos are a mess, which is putting it mildly, but one must always remember that this is the CFL and turnarounds are always possible, one game, one player stepping up and providing that spark, one stretch when a few wins are strung together.

It’s damning when a CFL offence averages 3.3 passing yards and ends the game with a quarterback efficiency of 28.32, incredibly pathetic, but those were the numbers to emerge from Saturday’s sorry effort.

Vidal Hazelton and Andre Durie combined for zero catches.

Kevin Elliott comes back for the first time since the season opener and he hauls in two receptions.

The return gets revamped and none of Devon Wylie, who averaged 17.7 yards on kickoffs, A.J. Jefferson, who had one punt return for seven yards, and Diontae Spencer, who averaged 6.5 yards on two punt returns, is able to step up.

Defensively, what does it say when an opposing quarterback checks in with an efficiency of 126.61.

It says the Argos aren’t good, their 4-4 record a reflection of average, only this team is now carrying a below-average rating.

Certainly, things can change with injured bodies expected back and Ray expected to line up under centre, but the half-way point to the season is now looming, a time when teams start to establish their identity, a period when roster change, or at least the right ones, can position a team for a post-season push.

When they hit the one-third pole with a 4-2 record, the Argos were well-positioned staring at a three-game home stretch that looked very enticing.

How quickly things have change, how quickly the Argos must now bounce back.

OPPORTUNITY LOST

When all is said and done, when the football dust finally settles, the Argos may look back at their recent slide and regret the opportunities that were presented.

In losses to Winnipeg and Edmonton, the Argos got off to good starts, taking the lead early and ultimately collapsing, both games getting away from Toronto.

Back-to-back setbacks have now put the Argos back in the middle of the pack in the East, a division that appeared to be for their taking had Toronto taken care of its business at home.

At 4-4, the Argos are tied with Hamilton, but technically trail the Ticats having lost when the two teams met in the season opener.

There isn’t much separation from the first-place Redblacks, whose home tie against Calgary remains the difference atop the division, and the last-place Als, who dominated in Ottawa Friday night.

The Argos, who close out their three-game home stretch Aug. 31 against B.C., play the Ticats twice, a home-and-home beginning on Labour Day and one game apiece against Ottawa and Montreal, both on the road.

After Oct. 2, when the Argos are in Montreal, there are no games against the East, the remaining four all against Western opponents, including two against Calgary, which has easily established itself as the league’s elite.

The East is tight, but the Argos did have a chance to create some separation.

Instead, they failed miserably because they can’t win at home and when there has been an opportunity they either can’t finish or are simply not good enough to close it out.

MILESTONE FOR WHITAKER

With so little being produced in the air, the Argos went to ground game Saturday against Edmonton and produced a season-high 175 yards.

In the big picture, it was of no consequence when the only goal is to win, but it did vault Brandon Whitaker past 4,500 yards in his career, the milestone reach on the veteran’s final touch of the game.

He’s now the 56st player in league history to reach 4,500 rushing yards, generating a season-high 108 yards in Toronto’s loss.

Also of note was Marshall McFadden’s 10 tackles, the first-year Argo playing in his first game since a knee injury in Week 1 put him on the six-game injured list.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com