After a whipping by Winnipeg, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will attempt to get back in playoff form when they visit the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.
The East Division-leading Tiger-Cats (9-6) clinched a playoff berth last weekend but were in no mood to rejoice following a 40-3 drubbing by the Blue Bombers.
The lopsided loss emphatically snapped a three-game winning streak for Hamilton, which is trying to reach 10 wins for the first time since 2019. The Tiger-Cats don’t expect the Argonauts (5-10) to hand it to them.
“There’s not a lot of teams that just go out there and lay down,” Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said after the loss to Winnipeg. “There’s gonna be guys playing for their lives, coaches coaching for their jobs. We understand what it is like. It’s gonna be playoff football from here on out. You’ve got to go out there and play like every game is your last.”
Mitchell leads the CFL with 4,406 passing yards, chasing his fourth career 5,000-yard season.
Greg Bell ranks sixth with 837 rushing yards, seeking his first 1,000-yard season since 2021 at San Diego State.
The Tiger-Cats have three games left in the regular season.
Toronto won two of the last three Grey Cups (2022, 2024) but is on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Argonauts have been competitive, with their last six losses all by single digits, including 27-22 last weekend at the BC Lions.
“I’m proud of their effort and their toughness,” Argos coach Ryan Dinwiddie said after falling short again. “It’s a tough loss. But I thought, offensively, too many penalties, too many second-and-longs. But the defensive effort was there. They played good enough football for us to win.”
Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle ranks second to Mitchell in both passing yards (4,370) and touchdown passes (26) but also leads the league with 15 interceptions.
The road teams took the first two meetings this season, with the Ticats winning 51-38 at Toronto on July 4 and the Argos winning 35-33 at Hamilton on Sept. 1.
–Field Level Media
