STREAMING CFL PPV: Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Toronto Argonauts, Aug. 27, 01:30 CET (1:30 am, 7:30 pm ET, Aug. 26)
TORONTO — Dane Evans is set to return as the Tiger-Cats starting quarterback when Hamilton travels to Toronto to take on the Argonauts on Friday night at BMO Field.
Evans missed Week 10’s matchup with a shoulder injury. He dressed in Week 11’s contest, listed as the team’s third string quarterback against Montreal, but didn’t see any action.
Ticats pivot Matthew Shiltz was impressive in his teams 29-28 loss to the Alouettes last week, throwing for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Having both Evans and Shiltz available against the Argos will pose a significant threat to the defence.
Hamilton and Toronto have split their previous two meetings, with the Argonauts winning 34-20 in Week 9 before the Tiger-Cats responded with a 34-27 victory in Week 10.
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With his 147 receiving yards against the Als, Tim White now leads the team with 654 yards. He’s caught five touchdown passes which is tied with Steven Dunbar Jr. for tops on the team.
The Ticats rank second in passing yards per game with 283.7 but are third last when it comes to running the ball. Their 81.9 average yards on the ground is better than only East Division foes Montreal and Toronto. Don Jackson leads the team with 229 rushing yards this season. The Argos will also need to be aware of Shiltz’s ability to run the ball. He’s accumulated 127 yards on 20 carries.
On the defensive side, defensive end Malik Carney and defensive tackle Ted Laurent both had a sack against the Alouettes. Kameron Kelly picked off his team-leading fourth pass of the season.
Head coach Orlondo Steinauer is putting last week’s loss behind him and looking ahead to a team his side is very familiar with.
“That’s what we can control,” Steinauer told Ticats.ca of this week’s game. “We have to take advantage of opportunities but we know what’s ahead of us. We have two more games against Toronto, back-to-back, but that’s just what it is.”
The Argos rushers, who rank last in average yards and are already without star Andrew Harris, will have their hands full against the leagues second best run defence as the Ticats allow 80.2 yards per game.
With rushing yards likely hard to come by, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson will need to find the end zone. He threw for 276 yards with an interception in a 22-19 Week 11 loss to Calgary and no passing touchdowns.
Bethel-Thompson knows how important this stretch of games is when it comes to deciding the division race.
“This is our season,” Bethel-Thompson told Argonauts.ca. “In so many ways these next two games against Hamilton are super pivotal. They’re big time games and very well could decide the rest of our season in a lot of ways. We have to go back to work and be ready to rock.”
Bethel-Thompson is second in the league when it comes to passing yards through 11 weeks with 2,506. A lot of that has to do with his numerous options at receiver. It’s a wideout corps that gets it done by committee, evident by the fact that no Argos receiver ranks in the top 10 in receiving yards.
: Kurleigh Gittens Jr. has 527 yards via 42 receptions, DaVaris Daniels has 453 receiving yards and Markeith Ambles has 382. The Ticats must also watch for running back AJ Ouellette to jump into the pass game. Ouellette led the team with seven catches for 92 yards against the Stamps.
Ouellette, who’s tasked with filling in for Harris and rushed for 18 yards against the Stamps, is trying to play his game and not put too much pressure on himself.
“I’ve been playing this game long enough, you get the pre-game jitters but that just means you care,” Ouellette told Argonauts.ca post-game against Calgary. “I didn’t feel any extra pressure than I feel any normal game.”
With how efficient the Ticats move the ball in the air, the Argos will look to put pressure on Evans. It’s something they’ve struggled to do so far this season as they have a league low 16 sacks.
The Argos backend of their defence has been solid this year with the secondary picking off 11 passes, three of which came last week against Calgary. Defensive backs Tarvarus McFadden, Maurice Carnell IV and DaShaun Amos all had an interception. In a game that will likely be decided by who has more success in the pass game, the trio of defensive play makers will have a big influence on the outcome.
The Ticats are two points behind the Argos and Montreal for first in the East Division. The Argos are trying to regain sole possession of the top spot with a win.
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American Football International is collaborating with Visaic and the Canadian Football League to present 2022 CFL games live. This is more than a livestream. This is a stream of the topflight TSN network television broadcast.
Watch the game live here PPV. Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Toronto Argonauts, Aug. 27, 01:30 CET (1:30 am, 7:30 pm ET, Aug. 26)
