Bailey McLean/CFL.ca
After a couple important back-to-back wins, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have something cooking.
Coming off a bye in Week 14, Hamilton got right back to work in Saturday’s 37-21 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Now, if you factor in their performance in a Week 12 loss to Winnipeg, the Ticats have put together three impressive outings in a row.
As a result, Hamilton has a far clearer path to making the playoffs than where they were a few weeks ago. But it’s not going to be easy.
The situation is fairly cut-and-dried for the Tiger-Cats. They sit three games back of Toronto for the third and final playoff spot in the East Division. With the crossover in play, Hamilton is also three games back of Saskatchewan and Edmonton for the final spot in the West Division (a crossover team must have more wins than the team or teams they’re chasing).
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With five games remaining, the Ticats have an uphill climb. But there’s definitely reason to be optimistic, starting with the continued strong play of quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The league’s leading passer added 299 more yards and two more touchdowns to his season totals. Mitchell is now up to 3,682 passing yards on the season to go along with 23 passing touchdowns; both numbers rank him first overall.
At receiver we’ve seen Tim White come on in a big way recently. In two games prior to Saturday, he’d racked up 314 yards and two touchdowns but was held in check to just one catch and 21 yards against the REDBLACKS. Limiting White opens the door for others, however, and Saturday’s beneficiary was Steven Dunbar Jr. to the tune of eight catches, 151 yards and a touchdown. Receiving depth is going to be a big key to continued success for the Ticats.
Don’t look now, but Hamilton has a rushing game. Since being promoted to the top of the depth chart in Week 11, first year CFL’er Greg Bell has made a significant impact. Saturday saw Bell run for 99 yards and a touchdown, which bumps his total to 303 yards and four touchdowns in his four games at starting running back.
Bell has added a ton in the passing game, too. In the same four-game stretch, Bell has reeled in 144 receiving yards on 16 catches. Combined with his work on the ground, that’s good for an average of more than 111 yards from scrimmage per game since getting tapped as starter.
Now, with all that being said, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. With five games to go, the Tiger-Cats have very little margin for error down the stretch. And Hamilton’s playoff door has the chance to swing dramatically one way or the other to kickoff Week 16 Friday night.
The Ticats are in Toronto for their final head-to-head battle with their southern Ontario arch-rival. A win puts Hamilton two games back in the East Division and means we’re in for a fight to wrap up the season. On the other hand, a loss might be too much for the Tiger-Cats to withstand with such little time left.
Bring on another Battle of Ontario.
QUICK HITS
Jake Maier and the Stamps went toe-to-toe with the Alouettes in Week 15, but came away with a point in their 19-19 tie (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)
Head coach Dave Dickenson and quarterback Jake Maier were the first to admit it: the Stampeders needed a win to wrap up Week 15. Instead, Calgary fought hard en route to a 19-19 tie with first place Montreal. The result is better than a loss, but the Stamps are now winless in five and weren’t able to move past idle Edmonton in the West Division standings.
There is one major recent positive for Calgary, though: the return of tailback Dedrick Mills. After stepping away for personal reasons and missing more than a month, it’s awesome to see Mills back with the team and it’s made a huge difference on the field. In two games back, Mills has rushed for 187 yards and given Calgary’s offence far more balance. The Stamps look for their first win since early August when they host the similarly desperate Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.
Finally, that was an important win for Toronto to kickoff our three-game weekend. It’s tough enough going into BC Place and beating a very good Lions team. But to hold a combination of Nathan Rourke, Vernon Adams Jr. and Chase Brice to just 12 completed passes is an accomplishment that deserves a giant salute.
