The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-6) look to get back in the win column Saturday when they make the trip to Vancouver to face the B.C. Lions (5-6).
Hamilton had their three-game winning streak snapped last weekend in a 43-28 loss to Calgary (10-2) at Tim Hortons Field.
Injuries could continue to make the Tiger-Cats look a lot slower on offence. Chris Williams and Jalen Saunders are gone for the season, while fellow receiver Brandon Banks has been hobbled by a groin strain. The lack of speed showed against the Stamps, with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s inability to stretch the field like he’s been used to. Masoli threw for just 210 yards in the loss. He averaged just 5.7 yards per completion — a far cry from the 9.3 yards per completion Masoli has averaged through 12 games this season.
Even still, the Tiger-Cats aren’t short on confidence heading into week 15.
“I think we match up good,” said Ticats receiver Terrence Toliver. “They play a lot of two-man, a lot of man coverage, so we just have to go out there and win our one-on-one battles against those guys.”
Masoli and the Tiger-Cats offence will have their hands full this week. The Lions have given up the second least amount of points per game (264) in the CFL, while leading the league in sacks (31) and interceptions (16). The B.C. team has 13 sacks in the past two games. Hamilton has turned the ball over more than any other team (35).
The Tiger-Cats are two points back of first place Ottawa in the East Division. The Lions, meanwhile, are on the outside looking in on the West Division playoff picture. B.C. sits four points behind Edmonton and Saskatchewan (7-5), who occupy second and third place heading into the week. Calgary is running away with the division with a 10-2 record.
Kickoff in B.C. is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. After the game, you can listen to The 5th Quarter post-game show on Global News Radio 900 CHML, online at 900chml.com and via the Radioplayer Canada app. You can also watch the show on CHML’s Facebook page.
Three things to watch:
- Hamilton’s last six trips to BC Place have not been kind. The Ticats are 1-5 in those games. However, Jeremiah Masoli has a 1-1 record versus B.C., winning their most recent game in B.C. last season 24-23.
- Masoli is 214 yards away from his first 4,000-yard passing season in the CFL, and is three touchdowns short of tying his career-best of 21 in 2016. He currently has 18 total (16 passing, two rushing).
- B.C.’s Shawn Lemon has been a beast since his move from Toronto. In his first five games with the Argos, Lemon had one sack. Since joining the Lions, he has seven sacks in six games. In B.C.’s first five games, they averaged 1.8 sacks per game (prior to adding Lemon). Since the addition of Lemon, the team has averaged 3.67 sacks per game in the six games.
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