Tiger-Cats hunting first sweep vs. Argonauts in 5 years
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will try to complete their first sweep of the Argonauts since 2019 when they meet Friday night in Toronto.
The first two meetings were both decided by three points and took place on Hamilton's turf, with the Tiger-Cats winning 27-24 on July 20 and 31-28 on Sept. 2.
Both teams are coming off victories last week, with Toronto (7-6) winning 33-17 on the road against the BC Lions and Hamilton (4-9) defeating the visiting Ottawa Redblacks 37-21.
Chad Kelly passed for 268 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a TD to lead Toronto past the Lions. Makai Polk caught six passes for 116 yards and a score. Robbie Smith recorded three of the Argos' seven sacks and helped limit BC to just 222 yards of offense. Lirim Hajrullahu booted six field goals.
The Argonauts snapped a two-game skid.
"We haven't executed very well the last few weeks, but we fought hard, right?" Toronto coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. "... Those guys stuck together. We had our backs against the wall, and they had their best performance."
Hamilton's Bo Levi Mitchell tallied 299 yards on 20-of-27 passing with two touchdowns and an interception in the win over Ottawa. Steven Dunbar had eight catches for 151 yards and a TD. Destin Talbert steadied the defense with 10 tackles and an interception.
Kelly is 4-1 in his career against Hamilton, while Mitchell is 14-2 against Toronto.
The third-place Argonauts can move closer to a playoff berth with a win against the East Division rival Tiger-Cats, who are still alive - six points behind Toronto with five games remaining.
"We didn't do ourselves any favors by getting into this position and not being able to really control our own destiny," Mitchell said. "... Our job is to go out there and try to win the next five."
Toronto is 5-1 at home this season and 6-0 against Hamilton at BMO Field since 2021. Hamilton is just 1-5 on the road in 2024.
