TORONTO — It was a bend but don’t break kind of effort by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night in their 33-31 win over the Toronto Argonauts. Needing to win against their rival on the road, the Ticats did just that but it did not come easy.
The Ticats only grasped the win in the dying seconds off of Marc Liegghio‘s walk-off field goal in a hard-fought game which had seven lead changes. Bo Levi Mitchell had a clean game throwing the ball, while James Butler returned to the field in style with a productive game on the ground.
Here are CFL.ca’s three key stats from the Tiger-Cats’ win over the Argonauts in Week 16.
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Back in the mix in place of the injured Greg Bell, Butler ensured that Hamilton’s run game didn’t miss a beat in his first appearance since Week 10.
Butler averaged just north of five yards per carry, taking a few for at least 10 yards, with his longest being a 15-yard run. In the receiving game, Butler was available for Mitchell’s checkdowns, catching all six of his targets for 44 yards.
The CFL’s passing leader came to play on Friday. Mitchell tacked on 362 more yards onto his total for the season in an efficient night for Hamilton’s pivot.
On a night where Tim White and Steven Dunbar Jr. were quiet by their standards, Mitchell found key throws to the likes of Shemar Bridges and Jevoni Robinson to keep the Ticats’ passing game flowing. Hamilton’s quarterback was careful with the football but not afraid to look deep for the big play.
Hamilton struggled in the red zone on Friday, having to lean on the leg of Liegghio to finish off their drives.
In the end, it was just about enough for the Ticats, and Liegghio was the saviour as time expired. He didn’t flinch on his sixth kick of the game from 48 yards as the clock hit zero, sealing an important road win for Hamilton.