Sometimes you have to play with a little chip on your shoulder.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats certainly looked like they had something to prove as they took down the Toronto Argonauts 47-29 to improve to 10-6 on the season.
Here are my thoughts on the bounce-back victory.
Setting the tone
Philip Ossai and the defensive line set the tone on the first play from scrimmage. With the pocket closing in, Ossai delivered a huge hit to strip Argos quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who unfortunately had to leave the game with an injury.
From then on, it was open season on backup quarterback Jarret Doege. Hamilton racked up a ridiculous nine sacks in by far their most productive game of the year. Even when they didn’t get their hands on Doege, the pressure gave him fits. Julian Howsare contributed four sacks, Ossai finished the night with three, and both Casey Sayles and Jose Ramirez added one each.
Minus a lull in the third quarter, the D-line had Toronto running for their lives all night long.
Wide open spaces
It was a terrible day to be a Toronto Argonauts defensive back. If you blinked, you missed Bo Levi Mitchell hitting another wide-open receiver downfield.
Mitchell threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns. Brendan O’Leary Orange led all receivers with 111 yards and two touchdowns on just two receptions, Kiondre Smith nearly cracked the century mark with 98 yards on six receptions, and Kenny Lawler made the most of his three catches as he found the end zone twice and finished the contest with 63 yards.
It did not matter who it was tonight. The receiving corps cooked the Argonauts.
Pick parade
Creating turnovers has been the Ticats’ calling card on defence all year, and the secondary wasn’t going to let the defensive line steal the show.
Hamilton intercepted Doege on four separate occasions, and it would have been five if not for an illegal contact call half a football field away from the play.
Three of the four interceptions belonged to Stavros Katsantonis, who has been one of the Ticats’ best defenders lately. Katsantonis was all over the field, delivering eight tackles on top of his takeaways.
Bonus marks to the defence for doing this without Jamal Peters, who was forced to leave the game with an injury in the first quarter. A great bounce-back game for the defence, just a week after Winnipeg scored on them at will.
Threat contained
Even the punt coverage team got the message after being embarrassed in Winnipeg. Hamilton’s special teams unit held Janarion Grant to 10.5 yards per return and kept him from breaking any big ones.
Despite the Tabbies’ dominant first half, this was a 10-point game at one point. A punt taken to the house could have changed the complexion of the game.
Hamilton did their job on special teams and shut down one of the Argos’ best chances at kick-starting a comeback.
Sleeping tigers
The Tiger-Cats were great for 53 minutes of football. The stats certainly tell the story of a blowout, but in reality, there were about five minutes where it looked like the Argos were going to erase a 32-3 halftime lead.
Coming out of the half flat has become a habit for the Ticats three weeks running. Hamilton has found themselves in more close games than they have needed to be in because of lulls like the one they had in the third quarter against Toronto.
It’s okay if the offence does not score every drive, just like it’s okay if the defence does not get a two-and-out every series. When both units go to sleep at the same time, that’s when you start entering comeback territory.
Hamilton’s only two giveaways came during this stretch, and Toronto turned three points into 19 in less than half a quarter. It will likely go mostly unnoticed because the Cats turned the heat back up and closed the contest out 47-29.
Every team in the playoff picture could realistically come back to win when down multiple scores in the second half. Hamilton cannot afford to go to sleep for half a quarter.
No comeback today
As if someone let Hamilton know there was still a quarter to play, everything reverted to the mean in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell found Lawler behind coverage for his second touchdown of the night early in the fourth quarter, and Marc Liegghio added two field goals to help the Ticats stop the turnaround in its tracks.
It’s hard to play like it’s 0-0 when up big, but the best teams find a way to do it. Full credit to Hamilton for turning it on when they needed to.
Job’s not finished
The math is simple: the Tiger-Cats are one win from being one win from a spot in the Grey Cup.
Make no mistake, the measuring stick for success for the 2025 Tiger-Cats will be how they play in the postseason. When Hamilton brought Bo Levi Mitchell in, they were a season removed from two straight Grey Cup losses. Two viable starting quarterbacks in Jeremiah Masoli and Dane Evan were thrown by the wayside because they couldn’t get it done when it mattered.
They went after Mitchell because he is a proven winner in the CFL. There were flashes of what the offence could be in the first two seasons, but both teams ultimately failed to overcome poor starts.
This season has been one of the best in the last quarter-century from a statistical standpoint. Unfortunately for a fanbase that has not seen a championship in 26 years, none of it will matter if Hamilton goes home in the East Semi-Final.
When the 2025 playoffs start, it is going to be the definition of any given Sunday — or rather any given Saturday. Nearly every team in the playoff picture has the capability to win the Grey Cup. It cannot be understated how important winning the East and getting the extra bye is. Hamilton has three chances to accomplish their goal.
