Hamilton Tiger-Cats dominated in the trenches en route to ugly loss in Regina (& nine other thoughts)

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats suffered an ugly 29-9 loss at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday to fall to 6-4 on the season. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell spent most of the night scrambling, and the Saskatchewan offence figured the Tiger-Cats defence out fast in a game that got ugly down the stretch.

Here are my thoughts on the Tiger-Cats’ worst performance of the year thus far.

Getting bullied on the LOS

Before we dive into the finer details of this one, let’s call a spade a spade. The Tiger-Cats lost this game because they were bullied in the trenches. On the offensive line, on the defensive line — bullied. Mitchell had to pick himself up off the turf six times after sacks, and he was running around more than he wanted to be at 35 in between big hits.

The Riders had a much better time protecting their quarterback. Philip Ossai picked up the Tiger-Cats’ only sack of the night early in the first half. The D-line went quiet after that. Football is won in the trenches. Hamilton got smacked around on the line of scrimmage in Regina.

Showing some Moxey

Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris came into this one completing at least 70 per cent of his passes in the last seven straight games, a CFL record. The Hamilton secondary looked to be a worthy opponent early.

Jonathan Moxey made a play on the Riders’ first drive, knocking down a pass on first down, which should have been an interception. On the following drive, Destin Talbert picked up his third interception of the season. The hot start from the defence put Hamilton in a prime position to build an early lead.

Failing to capitalize

If Hamilton wants to look at where this one got away, they don’t have to watch film for long. Moving the ball within 10 yards of the goal line twice, but only coming away with six points, allowed the Riders to settle in and find their game.

Hamilton dominated the first quarter, but Saskatchewan felt content to stick to their game plan down 6-1. It took all of 10 seconds for the Riders to erase a quarter’s worth of work on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Harris to Dohnte Meyers.

There was an opportunity to grab this game by the reins, and the Tiger-Cats failed to capitalize on it.

A double-edged sword

Jumping routes is a risk-reward business; the Hamilton secondary experienced both on Saturday. Jumping two routes early led to a pass breakup for Moxey and an interception for Destin Talbert. The third time around, Moxey got greedy.

The veteran DB has to know someone in the Riders booth was going to identify him jumping routes and call a double move. This is exactly what led to the Riders’ first touchdown.

It was the beginning of a long three quarters for the Hamilton secondary.

From manageable to bad to worse

There were shades of the Calgary game to start the season. Hamilton shot themselves in the foot in a big way in the dying minutes of the first half. All of the momentum was already in Saskatchewan’s corner when they drove the field and Harris found Tommy Nield to extend their lead to 16-6.

Trying to get something before halftime, the recurring theme of Rider d-lineman giving Mitchell no time to operate led to a costly fumble and a chance for Brett Lauther to tack on a field goal to end the half.

In the games they have won, Hamilton has been good in the final two minutes of the first half and during winning time in the fourth quarter. In three of their four losses, there have been big swings headed into the locker room.

The damage may already have been done with Nield’s touchdown, especially with the way the Riders’ defence was shutting Hamilton down. Giving up the extra three points and essentially making it a two-touchdown game was a killer.

An ugly half of football

The second half of this football game looked nothing like the 2025 Hamilton Tiger-Cats offence has looked at any point in the season. It started up front with the offensive line, who could not keep the d-line off of Mitchell for the second half, and continued down the depth chart. Mitchell did not have his best game under centre, the receiving corps had their most pedestrian game of the season, and Greg Bell could not get out of the starting blocks when handed the ball.

On the flip side, Saskatchewan moved the ball well but only managed to score 10 points in the second half. It wasn’t the defence’s worst half of play, but the contest was all but over. Hamilton never threatened, and the Riders were still able to add the one major in the second half to keep the game out of reach.

Return to form

Mosaic Stadium was a kicker’s nightmare on Saturday, with high winds affecting kicks. Marc Liegghio, however, was his usual unbothered self one week after an uncharacteristic two-miss performance. Liegghio was perfect and provided all of the Ticats’ first-half points against the Riders.

Much-needed rest

After travelling 2,200 kilometres in two short weeks and playing two teams coming off bye weeks, the Tiger-Cats will be happy to enjoy some rest and recovery of their own.

Though they fell woefully short in Saskatchewan, the upcoming bye is perfectly positioned ahead of the sprint to the finish line. Hamilton hosts Toronto in the Labour Day classic after the bye, before another East Division showdown against Montreal.

Scott Milanovich-led teams have always been at their best down the stretch. The issue in years past has been that Hamilton was no longer in the playoff picture come Labour Day. They are currently first in the East Division with their 6-4 record. If their best football is yet to come, they have done their job in the first half of the season.