It’s safe to say that Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Nate Behar has no use for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Behar, whose team hosts Hamilton on Friday night in a game that will be critical to determining who gets the East’s final playoff spot, had no problem making his feelings known about the Tiger-Cats’ methods.

“They like to take shots when people aren’t looking,” he said. “It’s not a way I’d feel proud to play and I’d say that to their face. I don’t know what the hell is going on; it’s bizarre.”

Behar accused Hamilton players of attempting to choke him, punching players in the throat and spitting at opponents. He also said the Ti-Cats “make a lot of noise. It’s pretty well documented how we feel about these guys.”

What’s also well documented is that Ottawa (3-8) has lost five straight since surprising wins over Winnipeg and Calgary that bumped it up to the .500 mark. The latest was a 30-20 setback on Aug. 27 in Edmonton, breaking the Elks’ 22-game home losing streak that dated all the way back to 2019.

And the Redblacks also have dropped the first two games of their season series to the Ti-Cats. A third loss would clinch the season series for Hamilton and a tiebreaking advantage if needed to determine who makes the playoffs.

“For us to get where we want to go, we have to win,” Ottawa coach Bob Dyce said. “What happened yesterday, happened yesterday. We have to beat these guys.”

That’s not been a problem for most CFL teams. Hamilton (4-7) followed up a stunning rout of B.C. two weeks ago with a 41-28 loss Monday to East leader Toronto. Despite 296 yards and three touchdown passes from rookie Taylor Powell, Hamilton wasn’t able to string together consecutive wins for the second time this year.

Ti-Cats coach Orlondo Steinauer said the quick turnaround is affecting how he runs his team this week.

“There wasn’t much practice out there,” he said Wednesday on the team’s website. “It was more about getting guys mobile. We had a light practice that probably felt heavy.”

–Field Level Media