Hamilton Tiger-Cats to be minus backup Mathews for rematch with Ottawa Redblacks

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will have to try winning the East Division without their top two quarterbacks.

Hamilton (10-7) has placed backup Jeff Mathews on the injured list, meaning he won’t play in the club’s pivotal road game Saturday afternoon. The Ticats visit the Ottawa Redblacks (11-6) needing to win by seven or more points to finish atop the East Division and secure home-field advantage for the conference final Nov. 22.

Mathews took a hit to his head in last weekend’s 12-6 home loss to Ottawa. After recording just two wins in their inaugural season last year, the Redblacks can finish first in the East with a victory, tie or loss by less than six points.

With Mathews sidelined, Jeremiah Massoli and Jacory Harris have shared quarterback reps in practice. Mathews became the starter when incumbent Zach Collaros suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 25-18 home loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in September.

Mathews was 20-of-35 passing for 160 yards last weekend with two interceptions and also lost one of his two fumbles. Ottawa got decent pressure on Mathews, registering six sacks, including two by newcomer Shawn Lemon, who also forced two fumbles.

On Tuesday, the Ticats signed former Toronto Argonaut Mitchell Gale.

Mathews has been decent statistically as a starter (100-of-150 passing, 67.1 per cent completion percentage for 1,211 yards) but has almost as many interceptions (five) as TDs (six). Over his last two starts, Mathews had twice as many interceptions (four) as touchdown passes (two).

Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris, who played despite suffering a knee injury in a 27-20 road win over Winnipeg on Oct. 24, finished 17-of-34 passing for 187 yards with an interception. But the 40-year-old is the CFL’s passing leader (5,335 yards) and has recorded nine 300-yard passing games while possessing a gaudy 70.7 completion percentage to remain the favourite for the league’s outstanding player award.

But all of the scoring last weekend came the result of field goals, as Chris Milo hit all four attempts he tried while Justin Medlock was also perfect (2-of-2).

Pick — Ottawa.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers versus Toronto Argonauts on Friday night

Toronto (9-8) will finish third in the East Division and be on the road for the conference semifinal. But the Argos have dropped three straight so expect head coach Scott Milanovich to stick with his veterans to gain the win and have something positive to take into the post-season. There’s no post-season for hard-luck Winnipeg (5-12), which has lost two consecutive games and five of six but four of those have been by a combined 13 points.

Pick — Toronto.

Calgary Stampeders versus B.C. Lions on Saturday night

Both teams want to get through this game unscathed given they’ll meet next weekend in Calgary in the West Division semifinal. Backup Drew Tate starts for Calgary (13-4), which has won two straight, but starter Bo Levi Mitchell is expected to see some action. B.C. (7-10) is 3-3 under rookie starter Jonathon Jennings, who has 15 TD strikes against seven picks over that span however he’s also likely to see limited playing time.

Pick — Calgary.

Saskatchewan Roughriders versus Montreal Alouettes on Sunday afternoon

Montreal (6-11) will miss the playoffs but defensive lineman John Bowman and running back Tyrell Sutton are both chasing individual milestones. Bowman has a league-high 16 sacks, one more than Winnipeg’s Jamaal Westerman, while Sutton needs 80 yards rushing to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. Saskatchewan (2-15) has dropped four straight and is 0-8 on the road this season.

Pick — Montreal.

Last week: 2-2.

Overall record: 43-30.