Despite being down 25 points in the third quarter to the Edmonton Eskimos, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats completed the historic comeback with the 37-31 win. Hamilton has improved to 3-2, while Edmonton has dropped to 2-2. The Tabbies came back from 31-6 deficit to score 31 unanswered second half points.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats stun Edmonton Eskimos with Historic Comeback
It was a historic comeback of epic proportions. Hamilton was basically down and out in the first half, but pulled off a solid performance in the second half.
Offense
The offense had another lackluster start. Despite strong field position, the offense could not seem to get things going in the first half. Furthermore, frequent two and outs prompted more outings by their defensive counterparts. However, Jeremiah Masoli and company were lights out in the second half. The offense scored 31 unanswered points in the latter half, and Masoli played tremendously. In addition, the great receiving corps of Luke Tasker, Chad Owens, and Andy Fantuz led the historic comeback. Masoli also delivered a historical performance with 23 consecutive pass completions in the second half.
Defense/Special Teams
In the opening half, the defense were out on the field a lot. Rookie corner backs of Travis Lee and Quinton Pointer were derailed by the impressive Eskimos receiving duo of Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker. The Edmonton duo had a combined 185 receiving yards in the first thirty minutes. Furthermore, Mike Reilly was on fire.
When the second half commenced, the defence shut down the terrible trio and made Edmonton one-dimensional. The special teams were very good as well for the Tiger-Cats. Brett Maher converted all of his field goal attempts, and both Brandon Banks and C.J. Gable had an effective outing on returns.
Coaching
Ticats head coach Kent Austin made the critical adjustments in the latter half. He maintained confidence in his team through the rough tides early in the game, and it paid off greatly. Eskimos head coach Jason Maas had a great game plan going. Unfortunately for Maas and Edmonton, they did the opposite in the second half.
Main Photo: Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images
