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Redblacks win in more ways than one against Ticats (& nine other thoughts)

There is no such thing as a meaningless game. That term was used frequently in the lead-up to Friday night’s kickoff, even though it shouldn’t have been.

While it’s true there was no chance to change the standings regardless of who won or lost, when the Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats took the field at TD Place, it mattered plenty.

By eking out a 37-31 victory, Bob Dyce’s squad won in multiple senses: it stopped Ottawa’s losing skid at five games, it sent the team into the playoffs on a positive note, they avoided picking up any new injuries, the offence seemed in a groove, and the fan base was re-energized.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

1) If the idea behind playing Dru Brown instead of resting him was so that he could continue to work off the rust accumulated while missing multiple games with an ankle injury, then mission accomplished!

Brown — who is just the sixth quarterback to lead Ottawa to the playoffs since 1985 — was excellent against the Ticats. He made quick decisions and was precise with the ball, hitting receivers in stride aside from a handful of throws. He also aggressively pushed the ball down the field. The 27-year-old finished the night by completing 68 percent of his passes for 445 yards, three touchdowns and an interception that came on one of his rare misfires. If not for five drops, his numbers would be that much better.

With Brown looking completely healthy and seemingly comfortable in the offence, R-Nation has someone they can trust at the game’s most important position heading into the playoffs.

2) I haven’t been shy about criticizing offensive coordinator Tommy Condell’s play-calling and game plans in recent weeks. As such, it’s only fair to applaud when his unit has a stellar outing, as was the case last night.

Upon seeing that the Redblacks weren’t dressing a true running back and instead using a receiver at the position, I was extremely skeptical, especially given how non-existent Ottawa’s ground game had been during their five-game losing skid. Although it didn’t suddenly come alive, Condell made it work. Between handoffs, he frequently dialled up short swing passes on first down that produced just as much (if not more) yardage than a running play.

Overall, Ottawa’s offence toyed with the Ticats’ defence, racking up 534 yards of total offence while averaging 10.5 yards per play. Of their 14 possessions, half gained 48 or more yards. Eight resulted in points, and only three drives went two-and-out. All in all, it was pretty much as good a performance as one could hope for heading into the postseason.

3) When the depth charts were released and receiver Bralon Addison’s name was listed at running back, it was somewhat of a surprise. In recent years, the Redblacks have used players like DeVonte Dedmon and Addison at the position with varying degrees of success, but given that rookie American running back Khalan Laborn had gotten six consecutive starts since the release of Ryquell Armstead, his benching caught many off-guard.

There was some speculation that this was simply the team resting him for next week’s East Semi-Final, but that doesn’t check out for a number of reasons. First of all, the team played starters at every other position. Secondly, if they were resting him, exposing him on the practice roster was a risky decision. Thirdly, he’s a rookie who has only played six games in 2024. You’d think the more reps he gets, the better.

In his absence, Addison filled in admirably, turning eight handoffs into 38 rushing yards. He was also involved in the passing game, catching six short passes for 44 yards and a touchdown through the air, with 29 of those yards coming after the catch.

The five-foot-nine, 197-pound receiver did take a couple of hellacious shots from Ticat defensive lineman, but he never fumbled and always bounced right back up. Going forward, Addison proved he can get the job done playing out of position, but the risks need to be weighed against the rewards.

On one hand, playing Addison at running back allows the Redblacks to field a receiving corps that features Kalil Pimpleton, Justin  Hardy, Jaelon Acklin and Dominique Rhymes. That’s a heck of a lot of talent on the field for Brown to spread the ball around to. On the other hand, Addison is someone who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons and he will wind up taking some big shots. There’s also the concern about the quality of pass protection Addison can provide. Typically, running backs are an integral part of picking up blitzing linebackers and defensive linemen stunting and twisting in. Having a receiver trying to step up and make those blocks is a big ask. Perhaps Condell can scheme around that by incorporating tight ends and a sixth offensive lineman into his formations.

4) With Justin Hardy resting on the one-game injured list due to back spasms, his chance to become the first Ottawa player to lead the CFL in receiver since Tony Gabriel in 1977 went up in smoke. Hardy finished the 2024 regular season just 127 yards behind Canadian Justin McInnis. The decision to rest him is absolutely the correct one, as outside of Brown, Hardy is Ottawa’s most important player on the offensive side of the ball. His being as close to 100 percent as possible when the playoffs start is essential.

In Hardy’s place, the team started Andre Miller, who went on to make two catches for 34 yards. As for the rest of the receiving corps, rookie sensation Kalil Pimpleton led the way with six catches for 167 yards and a touchdown. He also had a pair of drops. Pimpleton’s speed is a huge issue for opposing defences and it was nice to see him repeatedly get behind Hamilton’s secondary.

Dominique Rhymes made six catches for 115 yards but also had a pair of drops. Jaelon Acklin hauled in three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Canadian rookie Nick Mardner made three catches for 32 yards. Fullback Anthony Gosselin had a game to forget, fumbling his only carry of the game in the first quarter and dropping his lone target of the night.

5) With Drake Centers moved back to the practice roster, Canadian veteran Jacob Ruby got the start at left tackle and Dontae Bull made the game-day roster as the sixth offensive line.

Overall, Ottawa’s big men held up well in pass protection. Brown was only sacked once on 38 pass attempts and even when there was heavy pressure, the offensive line did a good job of washing it to the outside so that their quarterback could still move around the pocket.

The block of the game goes to right guard Dariusz Bladek, who moved with bad intentions on backup quarterback Dustin Crum’s 42-yard scamper in the second quarter.

6) Barron Miles’ defence did not play well. In fact, if there’s one negative coming out of this game, it’s that the secondary looks as leaky as ever. And yet, when it mattered most, the defence came up huge and ultimately won the game for the team thanks to an epic goal-line stand.

I will admit, when Alijah McGhee got beat for a 44-yard gain to Ottawa’s one-yard line with 57 seconds left in the game, my first reaction was “Let them score”. My logic was that the sooner Hamilton punched in the ball, the more time the offence would have to get into position to kick the game-winning field goal.

Instead, Cleyon Laing tackled Ante Milanovic-Litre for no gain on first down. Then Mike Wakefield got him for a loss of a yard on second down, and on third-and-goal with no time left on the clock, McGhee atoned for his busted coverage by snaking in and tackling Milanovic-Litre for no gain to force a turnover on downs and guarantee the win.

That’s the kind of stand that can spark belief in a defence. We’ll see if that carries over into the playoffs, but it very well could.

Overall, the defence was gashed by Hamilton, who had 533 yards of offence and 26 first downs. The Ticats moved the ball on the ground — averaging 5.7 yards per carry and finishing with 119 rushing yards — and in the air — with 425 passing yards, averaging 11.8 yards per pass.

It’s extremely concerning that there are a number of guys in the secondary who are routinely torched deep, with Deandre Lamont, Money Hunter, and Brandin Dandridge being the most frequent culprits. The play where Dandridge was beaten deep but forced a fumble that was recovered by Hunter, who then pitched it back to Dandridge who ran backwards for a 15-yard loss was an encapsulation of a bad play turned good, turned bad again.

In terms of defensive standouts for the right reasons, Damon Webb snagged an interception at the goal line to prevent a touchdown, Lorenzo Mauldin notched his 30th sack as a Redblack, and McGhee had four tackles to go with his pair of knockdowns.

7) Lewis Ward isn’t automatic, but he’s pretty damn close. Ottawa’s kicker went five-for-five on field goal attempts, splitting the uprights from 23, 31, 33, 47 and 21 yards out. Punter Richie Leone hammered four punts for an average field position flip of 39.8 yards. Nigel Romick — the lone remaining original Redblack — led the way with three special teams tackles.

In terms of Ottawa’s return game, DeVonte Dedmon took the game’s opening kickoff back 53 yards, but it was nullified by an unnecessary block in the back flag on Global linebacker Tyron Vrede. He had an otherwise quiet night, with his longest return being just 26 yards. Pimpleton handled punt return duties and averaged 4.5 yards per return as a result of excellent kick coverage by the Ticats.

8) If you’d polled Ottawa fans before the season started, three main complaints would have come up. The team seemingly never won at home, hadn’t made the playoffs in four years, and played uninspiring and bland football. All three of those things changed in 2024, which does count for something.

In hanging on to beat the Ticats, the Redblacks close out the regular season with a 7-1-1 home record, a franchise best. The last time Ottawa played so well at Lansdowne was back in 2015, when the team went 7-2 at TD Place. It’s a shame the team couldn’t have been a bit better on the road, as TD Place would have boasted an insane atmosphere for a playoff game.

9) By finishing the regular season with a 9-8-1 record, the Redblacks earned their third winning season in ten years (2015 and 2018 were the other occasions).

Next week, Dyce’s team heads back to BMO Field to take on the Toronto Argonauts for the team’s first-ever road playoff game. In 2015, 2016 and 2018, Ottawa hosted the East Final. In 2017, they hosted the East Semi-Final against a crossover Saskatchewan team. But since the Grey Cup is technically a neutral venue, this will be the organization’s first-ever road postseason contest.

Going into Toronto will be a tall task but R-Nation shouldn’t be writing off their team. In a year that featured so many unexpected performances, full of highs and lows, the slate is now officially wiped clean. Everyone is 0-0 and the only thing that matters is what happens next. A win next week and the 2024 goes from good to great.

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Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).

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