Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell will try to reach 4,000 passing yards for the fifth time Saturday night when his Tiger-Cats host the Edmonton Elks and their league-worst pass defense.
The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player enters with 3,883 yards, having previously reached the 4K milestone in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2024.
With five regular-season games left, the Tiger-Cats (8-5) are in the penthouse in the East Division, and the Elks (5-8) are in the West basement. Edmonton allows 296.1 passing yards per game.
Three of Edmonton’s last four losses, since Week 9 have been by four or fewer points, including a 31-30 heartbreaker last weekend at Toronto and a 28-24 setback in the first meeting with Hamilton on Aug. 2.
Mitchell has thrown for at least 300 yards eight times this season, including 350 with three TDs in last month’s clash with the Elks. His 27-yard scoring strike to Tim White with just over two minutes remaining was the decider.
Last week, Mitchell guided the Tiger-Cats to an emotional 32-21 win against Winnipeg just hours after the death of general manager Ted Goveia.
Edmonton sustained its latest painful loss last week when the Argonauts’ Lirim Hajrullahu made a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
“This one’s gonna hurt but it’s not the end of the season by any means,” Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo said after the loss in Toronto. “We still have clawed ourselves back into a position, but we’re going against the No. 1 team in the East and No. 1 team in the West in back-to-back games, so it’s not getting any easier for us, and when you feel like you’ve fumbled a game away like that, it just really puts you behind the eight-ball.”
Tiger-Cats cornerback Jamal Peters knows the Elks are entering must-win territory.
“I know the type of team Edmonton is,” Peters said. “They like to establish the run; they’ve got a great running back in Justin Rankin. And they owe us after we beat them in Edmonton. And they’ve got Cody Fajardo; they’re going to play hard and we have to get on them right away like we did (against Winnipeg). We just have to finish.”
–Field Level Media
