Hamilton Tiger-Cats eliminated from playoff contention with overtime loss in Edmonton (& five other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 37-35 overtime loss to the Edmonton Elks on Saturday night. The Ticats drop to 4-11 on the season through 17 weeks in the CFL season. With three more games before their season ends, Hamilton is trying to find positives.

The game was there for the taking for Hamilton after one of their better defensive performances of the season. Yet again, the offence struggled to find a rhythm early in the game and put them in a bind.

While it was a much improved second half, Hamilton has struggled to find consistent play this season. While this one needed extra time, there were plays throughout the course of regulation that cost Hamilton this game.

COACHING GAFFES

As poor as execution has been this season for the Ticats, coaching blunders have been equally as bad. On Saturday, there were multiple poor decisions, including some that we have seen previously and Hamilton has not learned from.

With Harrison Frost struggling in the opening half, it would have made sense to see the Ticats look to Tre Ford to begin the third quarter. Hamilton stuck with Frost, who improved in the second half. He finished the game 17-for-34 with 214 passing yards (45 in the first half), a pair of touchdowns and interceptions.

There was belief going into the season that even with Bo Levi Mitchell being the starting quarterback, Tre Ford could be used in select packages to change the look for opposing defences. When Ford is not the starter, we rarely see him in games.

Twice Hamilton turned to Ford in this game, with the first time leading to a first down on a quarterback run. The second time was late in the fourth quarter and put Hamilton behind the sticks.

I am all for changing looks, especially when the offence is struggling. However, with your offence efficiently moving the ball down the field, turning to Ford in that moment is head-scratching. There has been a carousel of quarterbacks who have led the Ticats’ offence this season. It seems as though Scott Milanovich does not have a feel for when to give a different look. When things are going poorly, he sticks to his guns. When the offence finds some kind of spark, he elects to make a change.

This allowed time for Edmonton to kick a late field goal at the end of the half to tie the game and send it to overtime. Mismanagement of personnel and the game clock were another leading factor in the eventual loss.

Then, there was the overtime decision. First-and-goal from the four-yard line, down 35-32. Kicking a field goal sends you to a two-point conversion mini-game; a touchdown gives you a victory.

On first down, Frost threw a fade route to Kiondre Smith. The ball went in and out of his hands and fell to the turf. On second down, it was Tyler Ternowski at the one-yard line dropping the ball. Hamilton had a decision. A 12-yard field goal or one play from the four-yard line to win the game.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Knowing the Ticats would lose 37-35 after the first mini-game in overtime, it is easy to say you should have gone for it on third down. In the moment, it felt as though it was the right decision to go for it. One play to win it from the four-yard line or one play to put the pressure on from the three.

Clearly there was a distrust in the offence, and rightfully so, that they would lose it on third down. But to play it safe, in that moment, with your playoff hopes hanging by a single thread? A bad choice. While we have not seen these decisions often go Hamilton’s way, the overtime choice is a microcosm of how these have gone this season.

DEFENSIVE PROMISE

While I have been critical of the Ticats defence this season, that unit showed up and gave Hamilton a chance to win the game. That is not unusual for this team, but against a top team in the CFL in Edmonton, it was an impressive performance.

Time and time again on Saturday night, the Ticats offence put their defence in compromising field position. Hamilton’s defence’s ability to get off the field was much improved this week. The issue came from where Edmonton’s offence was when the Hamilton defence got off the field.

When the opposing kicker goes seven-for-seven on field goal attempts in regulation, getting 21 of the 29 Edmonton points, it is not a field-position recipe for success. Of course, the two in overtime are a given, based on the rules in place. The Ticats defence did more than enough to limit the damage. Vincent Blanchard set the CFL record for field goals in a game, going nine-for-nine. He recorded 28 total points for Edmonton and was the most important piece in the Elks’ victory.

Reggie Stubblefield’s takeaway late in the fourth quarter felt as though it was going to lead to a victory for Hamilton. He made an incredible break back on the ball and ripped it out of the hands of the receiver. It felt as though throughout the game the defence had given their offence a chance to go out and win, which they did not do.

With Cody Fajardo being as great as he has been this season, to limit him to 32-for-47 for 298 yards and an interception is an indication of how well the defence responded. Truly, I do not know how much more the defence could have done to try and win the game.

RUNNING ROUNTREE

The rushing attack was limited in this game, but effective when used. Larry Rountree III had 13 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. The bulk of the yardage came from explosive runs into the second level.

The only time the Ticats could not find their running game was when they tried late in the first half. With under two minutes to play in the second quarter, Hamilton ran the ball twice from their own 15-yard line. Both runs landed for no yards, and a total of 40 seconds were run off the clock.

The ensuing punt went just 39 yards and allowed Edmonton to extend their lead to 15-10 heading into halftime.

Other than the poor management, Rountree was effective in the running game, consistently evading defenders and breaking tackles. His 39-yard touchdown run allowed him to showcase his speed in the open field, which we have not seen much this season.

The blocking scheme was far from perfect on Saturday. However, Rountree was able to find lanes and break open big gains on the Edmonton defence.

We have been asking to see more of that since his Week 2 performance in Winnipeg; the Ticats found a way to move the ball on the ground effectively.

At this point in the season, now with the playoffs out of reach, players will be playing for jobs in 2027. They need to put good film out to stay with Hamilton or to move on to another team.

Despite the Ticats issues stemming from the blocking up front, Rountree is on the hot seat for the lack of rushing output this season. If he can string multiple strong performances together, he could be an option for the Tiger-Cats next season.

The passing game was lacking in the first half for Hamilton. Rountree’s performance was impactful in keeping the Ticats in the game early.

SPECIAL TEAMS

When the CFL record for field goals in a single game is broken by your opponent, it is easy to look at Marc Liegghio going five-for-six on his attempts as an opportunity missed.

As we have talked about before, Liegghio has been the most consistent performer for the Tiger-Cats this season. His missing one of his six attempts was far from the reason Hamilton lost this game in Edmonton.

The bigger concern was the amount of yards that Edmonton was getting in the return game. Liegghio was forced to make a tackle after hitting the go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter. This set up Edmonton to start the drive from their own 50-yard line with 44 seconds to play in the game. Edmonton would march down into Hamilton territory and kick a 27-yard field goal with one second remaining to tie the game 29-29.

Montrell Washington handled the return duties for Edmonton, averaging 26.2 yards per return on six attempts. His longest of the game was 37 yards. With the offence already putting the defence in a bind with their lack of production, the poor kickoff coverage did not help.

Too many times, Edmonton got better field positioning on what had been a strength of the Ticats heading into the season.

While the kicking game did not win the game for Hamilton, the coverage team created problems that were too much for the Tiger-Cats to battle back from.

UP NEXT

There are still three regular-season games for the Tiger-Cats before the 2026 season begrudgingly ends. Two of those three games are against the winless Redblacks. Hamilton will be hoping to finish the season on a positive note.

Ottawa will host Hamilton on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Both teams, who are officially eliminated from playoff contention, will be looking for a morale-boosting win.

The Tiger-Cats’ disastrous season could fall further if they are the first team to drop a game to Ottawa in 2026.