Edmonton @ Hamilton preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 13, 2016 ) Edmonton 24, Hamilton 21

The Edmonton Eskimos look to remain unbeaten when they travel east to tangle with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday. The Eskimos held off the Ottawa Redblacks 23-21 in Week 4 to notch their third consecutive victory, and hope to take sole possession of first place in the West Division standings by knocking off the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton for the fourth straight time.

Edmonton has won eight consecutive games against East Division opponents, including a 24-21 victory against Hamilton in the 2016 Eastern semifinal, and searches for its first 4-0 start since 2014. The Tiger-Cats are left to pick up the pieces following a 41-26 setback to the BC Lions. Winless Hamilton has dropped nine of its last 10 games overall dating back to last season, and is desperately searching for an identity on offence as the unit sits last in points per game (20.3), passing yards (264) and passing touchdowns (two). "I told the guys it's going to get ugly around them with all the negativity and the chatter right now," Hamilton coach Kent Austin told reporters. "They need to get their rest and keep fluids in them and be ready to prepare physically to play on a short week against another physical football team."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE ESKIMOS (3-0): Mike Reilly threw for 265 yards and a touchdown against Ottawa to move within one TD toss of passing Matt Dunigan for fifth place on Edmonton's all-time list. The Eskimos continue to be decimated by injuries at the linebacker position as Adam Konar was helped off the field with a leg injury late in the fourth quarter against the Redblacks and joins Cory Greenwood (ACL) and J.C. Sherritt (Achilles) on the injured list. "We're going to be on our next guy up for that and we've already had two go down at that position," Edmonton coach Jason Maas told reporters. "So we'll have to address it and we'll see who wins that job this week in practice and go forward."

ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (0-3): Zach Collaros had his best game of the season as he threw for 361 yards with a touchdown toss to Jalen Saunders, who finished with five catches for 147 yards against BC. Richard Leonard continues to be one of the lone bright spots on defence as the first-year safety recorded two interceptions and recovered a fumble against the Lions after returning a blocked kick for a touchdown in the season opener against Toronto. Sergio Castillo, a free-agent signing who won a heated kicking competition in training camp, is 5-for-5 this season after making a season-long 48-yard attempt in Week 4.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Edmonton has committed the fewest turnovers in the league (two).

2. Hamilton has lost seven straight games against West Division opponents.

3. The Tiger-Cats have surrendered 1,322 passing yards through their first three games.

PREDICTION: Eskimos 33, Tiger-Cats 26