Edmonton @ Hamilton preview
Tim Hortons Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2019 ) Hamilton 30, Edmonton 27
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats can equal a franchise record for most wins in a season when they host the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday. The Tiger-Cats cruised past the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33-13 in a battle of division leaders in Week 16 to improve to 11-3 while opening up an eight-point lead over the Montreal Alouettes and hope to move on the cusp of clinching their first Eastern title in five years by sweeping the season series with the Eskimos.
"The biggest thing is about getting wins and I'm proud of the men," Hamilton coach Orlondo Steinauer told reporters. "We have some work to do but again it's all about winning." Edmonton climbed back to .500 as it snapped a four-game losing skid by edging the Ottawa Redblacks 21-16. The win put the Eskimos in the driver's seat for the crossover playoff spot with the Redblacks (3-11) and BC Lions (4-10) trailing off in the rearview mirror and can clinch a postseason berth by avenging a 30-27 loss to the Tiger-Cats on Sept. 20. "We know what's going on and to get a win kind of erases the memory of those (losses)," Edmonton coach Jason Maas told reporters. "We hope to go out and play a great 60 minutes of football against Hamilton and come out with another win."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN2
ABOUT THE ESKIMOS (7-7): Logan Kilgore threw for 223 yards and tossed the go-ahead touchdown to Tevaun Smith with 2:52 remaining in the fourth quarter to lift Edmonton past Ottawa after the club announced that Trevor Harris (arm) was placed on the six-game injured list. Kilgore added a rushing touchdown to register his first win as a starting quarterback in the CFL since July 31, 2016 when he was with the Toronto Argonauts while Greg Ellingson (four catches, 50 yards) extended his reception streak to 57 games. Edmonton on Monday added wide receiver Danny Vandervoort, who was the third overall pick in the 2017 CFL draft, to the practice roster.
ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (11-3): Dane Evans was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after completing 25-of-32 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Winnipeg to improve to 6-2 as the starter while topping 300 yards for the fourth consecutive game. Linebacker Simoni Lawrence set a CFL record by registering 17 tackles against the Blue Bombers, eclipsing the old mark of 16 set by Reggie Hunt on July 10, 2003. Bralon Addison caught four passes for 90 yards and a touchdown to register the first 1,000-yard season of his career while shutdown corner Delvin Breaux, who has missed the last seven games, is inching closer to a return after participating in full drills during the week.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Tiger-Cats are 6-0 at home this season.
2. Edmonton leads the league in sacks (43).
3. Hamilton has won seven of its nine games against West Division opponents in 2019.
PREDICTION: Tiger-Cats 31, Eskimos 21