Walk-off win over Elks inches Hamilton Tiger-Cats closer to home playoff game (& nine other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Geoff Robins/CFL.ca

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat a much-improved Edmonton Elks squad in walk-off fashion to all but punch their ticket to the postseason. 

Hamilton needed a Marc Liegghio 41-yard field goal as time expired to secure the victory after a game in which defensive stops were a rarity. The offensive attack was balanced for the second week in a row, and the defence bent but didn’t break often, but it was not all positive for the Tabbies. They racked up 65 yards in penalties and handed the Elks a couple of key extra possessions. 

Here are my thoughts on the Tiger-Cats’ ninth win of the season. 

Hot to go

The Cats looked like a team that had grown used to enjoying home-cooked meals for the past three weeks out of the gate in this one. The offence didn’t leave the field without points on both of their first-quarter possessions, and scored on four of their five possessions in the first half. Bo Levi Mitchell found Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Kenny Lawler in the end zone for Hamilton’s two majors on the night.

Hot starts have been a trend for the Ticats lately, and they rode another one against the Elks. 

Great teams cover

I wish I were talking about the spread and not Hamilton’s inability to stop the opposing team’s kick return unit from running roughshod on them. Unfortunately, 14 games into the season, it’s the latter.

I can already feel my heart sinking as a playoff game gets flipped on its head by a big return. I have seen it more times than I can count in the CFL. Javon Leake is one of the best returners in the league. He once again exposed a weakness in the Tiger-Cats’ armour. 

Field position is key in the CFL. Leake’s only punt return was a 44-yarder, and the Elks had 40 yards on two kick returns. You can’t be giving up a low of 20 yards and expect to win the field position battle. This is going to bite Hamilton if they do not get it under control. 

BOO! 

The double-edged sword of having a stacked receiving corps is that guys like Brendan O’Leary-Orange do not get featured in the offence nearly as much as they should. Though limited in his usage this season, O’Leary-Orange has been dependable when called upon. He has 17 receptions for 202 yards and picked up his second touchdown of the season against Edmonton. 

Despite the limited usage, I consider BOO’s value to the offence comparable to Greg Bell’s in the sense that it is a measuring stick for the Ticats’ success.  The offence is most dangerous when the running game complements the aerial attack. The same goes for O’Leary-Orange. 

When he is playing well, it’s a good indicator that the Cats’ offence is firing on all cylinders as he creates space for the already lethal trio of Kenny Lawler, Kiondre Smith, and Tim White. O’Leary-Orange finished with three receptions for 32 yards and one touchdown. 

Extending the hunt

A little more killer instinct in key moments would have left no room for late-game drama. A third-and-two at the Edmonton 50, resulting in an outright drop by O’Leary-Orange, took away the chance to add to Hamilton’s lead. Later in the red zone, the Cats failed to get a yard on second-and-four and were forced to kick a field goal. 

Even keeping the ball and scoring three on the O’Leary-Orange drop drive would have given Hamilton the breathing room they needed. I have no issue throwing given the down and distance, but I would not have minded seeing Greg Bell get the ball to set up a third-and-short and an opportunity to go for it. 

The lack of killer instinct mixed with penalty trouble made this game far closer than it needed to be. 

Bend but don’t break

Despite giving up 280 yards and three touchdowns through the air, the defence, particularly the secondary, played well in big moments. Hamilton had their worst quarter of the game coming out of the half, and the defence still held to seven points. They forced back-to-back punts after giving up their only major of the half.

In the fourth, safety Stavros Katsantonis laid a game-saving hit to jar the ball loose and prevent an O.J. Hiliare touchdown, forcing the Elks to settle for three and take a 27-26 lead. While Edmonton was able to move the ball with some success, Hamilton’s defence showed up when they needed it most. Without any one of these three stops, the Tiger-Cats are not in a position to execute the walk-off. 

Everybody gets one

I do not envy referees as they have one of the toughest jobs in sport. Making calls at breakneck speed is an incredible skill and deserves a ton of credit. Missed calls almost always even themselves out, and I can’t think of very many instances (if any) where the refereeing significantly impacted the result of a CFL game.

For the most part, complaining about the officiating is just that: complaining. Having said all of that, there is nothing in the world worse than a ticky-tack call to extend a drive.

Late in the second half, with Edmonton needing a score, Cody Fajardo threw an incomplete pass near two Ticat defenders, and it sailed incomplete. Edmonton’s drive was then extended by an illegal contact call on a slot receiver on the opposite side of the field. TSN tried to show Cats fans the infraction, which ended up in Glen Suitor calling a five-yard press way longer than five yards as he tried to justify why the flag would have been thrown.  

If that is illegal contact, there should be a flag thrown on every play. It was a huge call which ultimately led to the Elks taking the lead with a touchdown. Missed calls happen. Referees making borderline calls away from the play to extend drives should not happen. Let the players play.

The command centre gets it right 

For the sake of being fair, if I’m going to talk about a blown call, I have to talk about the one the league got right. 

Point blank, the command centre got it right when they reviewed a hit to the head on Mitchell for roughing the passer on Hamilton’s game-winning drive. This is the kind of penalty which should be reviewed and I credit the league for identifying it and making the call in a timely fashion.  

Walk it off, Legs

This is what sports are all about. Hamilton and Edmonton went back and forth all night, and it all came down to a 41-yard field goal from Marc Liegghio. In many professional football settings, this would be considered a chip shot in today’s day and age. 

Not in Hamilton. 

Evidence of this fact had already been put on display by Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard missing a kick, and by the sheer movement of the ball on the attempts Blanchard and Liegghio hit. When Liegghio stepped up to take the responsibility of the game on his shoulders, it was anything but a guarantee. 

Wind swirled at his back as an eerie silence fell over 20,000 fans who knew a successful kick would all but solidify their spot in the CFL postseason. Calmly, cooly, as he’s done all season, Liegghio put it right down the pipe. Not a single doubt from the time it left his foot. 

What. A. Finish. 

What it all means

Moving to 9-5 on the season means the Tiger-Cats are two wins — or one win and one Montreal Alouettes loss — away from locking up first place in the Division and hosting the East Final. 

Still, they have everything to play for, as a scenario where they miss the playoffs still exists. Toronto winning all four of their final games would mean they win the season series against the Tiger-Cats and hold the tie-breaker. B.C. would then have to win their remaining three games after losing to Toronto, and Montreal would have to win three of their last four. In essence, Hamilton needs a lot to go wrong to miss the playoffs, but it could still happen.

The simplest math is this: one more win and they are in. Two more wins guarantee they will host the East Final.