Ottawa Redblacks stall in second half against Ticats, stretch losing streak to 21 games (& eight other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Ottawa Redblacks

If football games were only 30 minutes long, Ryan Dinwiddie’s squad would’ve finally broken into the win column on Friday night. Unfortunately for Ottawa’s head coach and the 15,308 members of R-Nation who had tickets to the game, CFL contests do require a second half.

It was in that second half that things fell apart for the Redblacks. An offence that moved the ball with ease in the first two quarters couldn’t get anything going in the third and fourth. A defence that initially bent but didn’t break ran out of gas and let the visitors score touchdowns on three consecutive drives.

The Redblacks have had more painful losses this season — think a few weeks back to losing on consecutive last-second field goals — but Friday night’s 34-16 defeat to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was perhaps the most deflating. For the first time this season, the team seemed resigned to their fate.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

Under pressure

Veteran quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was far from his best against the Ticats, but I don’t think he deserves much blame for the loss. Yes, he only completed 55 percent of the passes he attempted for 208 yards and no touchdowns, and yes, he had off-target throws (some way over the heads of his intended receiver, some skipped short, and some just out of reach), but context matters. The context on Friday night was that even if he was only sacked once, MBT faced heavy pressure nearly every time he dropped back to pass.

It’s fair to say that in 2026, the Redblacks’ offensive line hasn’t been a strength, but their pass-blocking against the Ticats was horrendous. There were multiple instances of MBT trying to step up into throws, only to be prevented from doing so because one of his linemen had been blown back into him. He was also frequently hit as he released the ball. The biggest tell that he was under siege is reflected by the fact that MBT took off running three times to avoid pressure, something the 38-year-old has never been known for doing.

After the game, Dinwiddie told TSN1200 that he was leaning towards starting rookie Bryson Barnes in the team’s remaining games. As I mentioned last week, while I do believe it would be nice to have a preview of what Barnes is capable of in live action, I wouldn’t want that preview to come before the team earned a win. The organization’s only goal right now should be to avoid going down in history as the CFL’s first and only winless team. MBT is still the quarterback who gives the team the best chance to do that, even if he had a rough outing against Hamilton. When given time, he made some great throws.

A great throw from McLeod Bethel-Thompson is reeled in by Kalil Pimpleton! 🙌#CFL pic.twitter.com/Bhh8jJSqbj

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 2, 2026

The focus should be on figuring out how to keep him upright and clean in the pocket, not worrying about 2027 yet.

Nothing going

Over the game’s first 30 minutes, Ottawa’s six possessions resulted in three field goals, a touchdown, a missed field goal, and a punt. Over the game’s final 30 minutes, Ottawa’s five possessions resulted in three two-and-outs, a fumble, and a turnover on downs. Despite having success moving the ball before the half and going into halftime with a lead for only the second time this season, it’s as if Dinwiddie and the Redblacks made no halftime adjustments, whereas the Ticats did.

Having to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns is never great, but that failure looms even larger when you’re shut out in the second half. The Redblacks managed a combined four first downs in the third and fourth quarters, and the first time they moved the chains in the second half came with eight minutes left in the game. Overall, just 54 of Ottawa’s 293 yards of offence came in the second half.

The most puzzling part of Ottawa’s lack of production is the fact that it was one of the only games this season where they actually got good production on the ground when they chose to run the ball. Yet despite putting up 98 rushing yards and having a pair of backs in Daniel Adeoboboye and Mario Anderson that were averaging 10.6 and 5.5 yards per carry, respectively, Dinwiddie only handed the ball off nine times to 31 passes, even though it was a one-score game well into the fourth quarter.

You’d think that on a night when the offensive line was struggling to pass block (to put it lightly), yet was doing a good job opening lanes for their running backs, you’d lean into the run. That was not the case. Instead, the season-long issue of the run-to-pass balance being entirely out of whack continued.

I’m well aware that it’s easy to play armchair offensive coordinator, but at some point, there needs to be accountability from the guy directing the attack. That ultimately falls on Dinwiddie’s shoulders. It’s not his fault when a receiver drops a pass and kills a drive (which happened twice), and he’s not responsible for blocks being missed, but he has to set the tone with his aggressiveness and creativity. There were moments of it, such as the flea-flicker in the first quarter, but they were offset by decisions like choosing to kick a field goal on third-and-one from Hamilton’s 35-yard line.

Worn down

Jeff Reinebold’s defence started out strong, holding the Ticats to just 13 points in the first half while notching a sack and generating a red-zone turnover, but things fell apart in the second half.

Jelani Stafford takes down Harrison Frost to force the Tiger-Cats to take a field goal.#CFL pic.twitter.com/ynHf89RpYu

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 2, 2026

Fatigue seemed to be a factor, and part of the blame lies with Ottawa’s offence. The Redblacks’ final four possessions failed to score any points and gained three, six, 20, and 17 yards. Meanwhile, the Ticats’ final four possessions featured three touchdowns and marched the ball 92, 86, 41, and 50 yards. Time of possession skewed heavily in Hamilton’s favour, and it’s no surprise Ottawa’s defenders wore down.

It also didn’t help that at times, Reinebold gambled with his play-calls and was burned, such as when he chose to leave rookie defensive back Kahzir Brown one-on-one with three-time All-Star receiver Kenny Lawler in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a 41-yard touchdown bomb.

No offence to Hamilton quarterback Harrison Frost, but in his previous five starts, he had completed 58.9 percent of the passes he attempted. On Friday night, the Redblacks made him look like prime Anthony Calvillo, allowing him to complete 80 percent of his passes for 342 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Aside from Jelani Stafford’s sack in the first quarter, Ottawa failed to make life uncomfortable for Frost at all. Far too often it was pitch and catch, with Frost completing the final 14 passes he attempted.

In terms of defenders who stood out for the right reasons, middle linebacker Nyles Morgan continues to be a force. Coming into the match, he was averaging seven tackles per game and he had 10 against the Ticats. Defensive lineman Jelani Stafford continues to make plays, as demonstrated by his five tackles, a sack, and a pass knockdown. In his CFL debut, rookie American defensive back Sage Ryan flew around the field, notching eight tackles, including a couple of truly bone-crushing hits. Playing SAM linebacker, Benny Sapp made four tackles and had a heck of a play where he blew up a screen that should’ve gone for a huge gain. Canadian Lucas Cormier had three tackles and forced a fumble. Alonzo Addae didn’t register a tackle, but was in the right spot to catch a deflected pass for his fifth interception of the season.

OFF HIS HEAD TO HIS TEAMMATE FOR THE INTERCEPTION 😱#CFL pic.twitter.com/ViiGEskS0Z

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 3, 2026

Moving up the ranks

Receiver Justin Hardy has only been in the nation’s capital for five seasons, yet has carved out a place for himself in Ottawa history. The 34-year-old already has the third most catches in Ottawa history, trailing only the legendary Tony Gabriel and Brad Sinopoli. Thanks to snagging eight passes for 56 yards against Hamilton, Hardy moves into a tie with Greg Ellingson for sixth place in terms of all-time Ottawa receiving yards with 4,866. If the veteran is brought back for the 2027 season — and he absolutely should be — it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to pass Rough Rider great Stephen Jones and Sinopoli to move into fourth place.

The Dutch Touch

At the CFL’s trade deadline on Wednesday, the Redblacks dealt kicker Brett Lauther to Saskatchewan for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 CFL Draft. On one hand, trading a kicker who had connected on 94.1 percent of his field goals when you’re desperate for a win doesn’t make much sense. On the other hand, if — as Dinwiddie told reporters after the transaction — Lauther was unlikely to re-sign with the team, getting some kind of asset for him makes sense. That said, the return does feel low for a guy who has only missed a single kick to date, and it’s not a move I personally would’ve made.

Instead of bringing back fan-favourite Lewis Ward, who was cut initially and replaced by Lauther, then brought back when Lauther was injured earlier this season, only to be released again once he was healthy, the team chose to elevate Global kicker Paul Geelen off the practice roster. The 23-year-old Dutchman made three of the four kicks he attempted in his pro debut, splitting the uprights from 44, 17 and 49 yards out, while pushing a 41-yard attempt quite wide left.

As for the rest of Ottawa’s special teams, Kalil Pimpleton averaged 9.3 yards per punt return and 24.7 per kickoff. In terms of kick coverage, the Redblacks did a good job of bottling up the always dangerous Isaiah Wooden, limiting him to 13 yards per punt return. Backup Canadian linebacker Michael Brodrique led the way with two special teams tackles.

Still sliding

With the loss, the Redblacks stand alone atop the record books as the team with the worst start to a season in CFL history. Their streak of 15 consecutive defeats to open the season passed the 14 losses in a row the Shreveport Pirates had in 1994.

Although it’s the 15th loss in a row this season, Ottawa’s losing streak actually extends back 393 days to last year. This was, in fact, the team’s 21st consecutive defeat. It’s the second-longest losing streak in Canadian football history, trailing only the Ottawa Senators/Rough Riders of 1928 to 1932, who hold the record with 25 losses in a row. In what can perhaps be described as a small mercy, even if the Redblacks fail to win a game in 2026, they cannot claim that particular record this year.

Straight screaming

TSN’s halftime segment “Straight Fire!” features incredible football plays from all levels of the game across the country and should be a weekly highlight for viewers. Instead, it too often devolves into nothing but incoherent shouting, with each member of the panel seemingly trying to make more noise than everyone else.  I’m all for being passionate about cool plays, especially at the grassroots level, but perhaps there’s a better way to channel that enthusiasm?

Up next

If there’s one thing that Dinwiddie and this coaching staff deserve credit for, it is the fact that the team has never quit on them. Week in and week out, regardless of the manner in which the team lost, the Redblacks have almost always come out and played hard the following week. I’m not sure that trend will continue next week, though, as Friday night’s post-game comments were the most dejected-sounding to date.

Morale and belief have seemingly remained high throughout this long losing streak, but players and staff will need to dig deep to ensure that remains the case next Friday night in Vancouver, when the team takes on the B.C. Lions.

The loss to Hamilton is frustrating not only because it was the franchise’s best opportunity to date to finally get into the win column, but because after the offence showed serious improvement in recent weeks with MBT under centre, the unit took a big step back. That, combined with continued porous play from the defence, and the team choosing to trade away their extremely reliable kicker, hasn’t done much to show the fan base that things are headed in the right direction.

At this point for R-Nation, seeing will be believing. That will require them to continue to tune in, which is no given with the way things are going right now.