CFL 2024 Season Week 4 Game Preview: Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ottawa Redblacks
The final match of the CFL weekend for Week 4 sees the winless Hamilton Tiger-Cats take on the Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday.
Hamilton (0-3) had been competitive through two games before a blowout loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders 36-20 last week. While quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has shown improvement from last season, he still has five turnovers and has made mistakes late in games.
Ottawa (1-1) hasn’t had as many opportunities to play and has had a mixed bag of results. After winning against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the team stumbled to the Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes by a season-high 26 points.
Preview
Game Information
Line: Redblacks -1.5, O/U 52
Date/Location: Sunday, June 30, 2024, at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario
Kickoff Time: 7:00 pm EST
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 24 Degrees Celsius, 20% Chance of Precipitation
TV/Streaming: TSN, RDS, CFL+
Injury Reports/Inactives
There’s a long list of injuries for the Tiger-Cats as they will be without running back James Butler (head) and defensive lineman Dewayne Hendrix (hamstring). Despite being a healthy scratch on the injury report, running back Greg Bell will start in Butler’s place. Defensive lineman David Menard is doubtful with a quadricep injury, and wide receiver Tyler Ternowski has been listed as questionable as he deals with a hip injury.
The Redblacks are also dealing with injuries, as defensive backs Ty Cranston (ankle) and Monshadrik Hunter (shoulder) will both be out. Seven other players were listed as available for the contest.
Keys to Victory
It hasn’t been all bad for the Tiger-Cats, but the offense is now without Butler to help and will need Bell to step in and put up the load. Hamilton’s defense has only created one turnover between interceptions and fumbles but has put pressure on quarterbacks with seven sacks. The defense flows through the front seven getting into the face of the passer.
Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown has shown good promise through two starts but needs more time to develop. Brown can lean on his receivers, Justin Hardy and Dominique Rhymes, to help him make plays. The defense got exposed in the secondary and needs to find a playmaker to create negative plays and turnovers.
Prediction
There are a lot of questions between the two teams as both still try to find their identities. Ottawa has more weapons on offense, while the Tiger-Cats have not had support from the wide receivers, who have had too many drops and missed opportunities. If Brown can evade the Tiger-Cats pass rush, the Redblacks should have enough juice to win.
Ottawa Redblacks 23, Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18
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ANTHONY MILLER