It was a whirlwind of a day for the Toronto Argonauts on Sunday afternoon in the Eastern Final against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

After the Roughriders clawed their way back from an 18-3 deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, it was up to the Argos to take matters into their own hands on their final drive.

With the season on the line, Argos quarterback Ricky Ray hit rookie running back James Wilder Jr. with a huge 22-yard pass on third-and-five that kept the winning drive alive.

A day later, the Tampa native revealed what it was like to be on the sidelines right before that final drive and leading up to the third-down play. He and his teammates knew it was their final chance to make something happen.

"We had a lot of time to think about it. There was a TV timeout right before the drive so guys were talking about what we had to do, and we were amping each other up," he said. "We knew that we had what it took to make it happen and guys were getting everyone focused on what we had to do. We've done it all year long, so we just had to play our game."

Nothing could prepare him for what was about to happen, but the 25-year-old knew he was ready when he was called upon.

"We've been practising that route quite a bit," he said. "So coach called the play and Ricky is the G.O.A.T. [greatest of all time] you know, so there's no question he'll find his man. They had me on man-to-man so Ricky just found me.

"You know it's just a good feeling to know that coach Trestman and [general manager Jim] Popp have trust in me to make a play like that."

Cody Fajardo found the end zone four plays later to lift Toronto to the Grey Cup Final in dramatic fashion. For Wilder, it's a game that will always hold a special place in his heart.

"It's still a surreal moment for me when I think about it, how we got there and how we battled as a team. It's something I'll never forget."

Although it was a great moment in its own right, Wilder knows it's not the final piece of the puzzle and it was back to business the moment he woke up on Monday.

"We were happy with the win, but we know our season's not over and there's no time to celebrate," he said. "We could have celebrated this win for six days until the next game but what's better, celebrating for six days or celebrating for six months? There's one more big game and that's our main focus."

The Argonauts head into the Grey Cup in Ottawa as the underdogs with the Calgary Stampeders as the clear favourites. Wilder said he doesn't sense that his teammates are feeling any added pressure ahead of the championship game.

"Obviously with any game of this level there's some pressure but as a team we're confident in our abilities and our identity," he said. "If we go in there and play our game, we know we'll put ourselves in a position to succeed. We just have to play Argo football."

Wilder has been in this situation before. In 2013, he was part of the BCS Championship-winning Florida Seminoles team, so he's no stranger to playing on the big stage.

The challenge on Sunday is finding a way through a Stamps defence that allowed the fewest points, total yards and average yards per rush in the CFL this year.

"This morning I was already talking to the O-Line, just trying to get a feel about what we can do against their defence," Wilder said. "I'm confident in our guys, the O-Line has been great for us this year and we have a lot of great blocking receivers as well. I know we haven't rushed the ball well against them this year, but I want to do everything I can to make it happen and help the team."

Wilder spent the majority of his early pro years on NFL practice rosters, so the CFL rookie is looking forward to experiencing all of the festivities leading up the Grey Cup.

"Championship games are championship games but my teammates have told me what it's like and I want to see what it's like to be in Canada's biggest party," he said. "I'm sure Ottawa will be electric and I'm looking forward to it."

But what Wilder wants most is to bring a championship to the city of Toronto and an organization that gave him a chance.

"You have to understand that we started from scratch this year. From the GM, to the coach – everything was new for us this year so people counted us out right away," he said. "But we believed in ourselves from the start. We never counted ourselves out and we proved everyone wrong. We have such a great group of guys here and we're confident of what we can do on the field. So to win a championship for this team when no one thought we had a chance would be amazing."