B.C. Lions roll over, play dead in mauling by Tiger-Cats (& 11 other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Logan Taylor/B.C. Lions

The B.C. Lions arrived at Hamilton Stadium on Friday facing serious questions and significant limitations. Their performance couldn’t have been much worse, as they fell 41-27 to the Tiger-Cats on a night where the scoreboard flattered the visitors.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Directionally challenged

After last week’s abysmal defensive performance, I spoke with veteran defensive back T.J. Lee about where the team would go from there. He expressed renewed optimism regarding the unit, stating that things could only get better.

Lee was wrong. Getting worse was possible, and they did exactly that in Hamilton.

It is not hyperbolic to suggest that a stiff wind off the water of Lake Ontario would have provided greater resistance to the Tiger-Cats’ offence than what the Lions offered on Friday night. The secondary could have stayed home and watched the game from their shiny new locker room in Surrey for as much coverage as they offered.

From the very first series, it was clear that Ticats’ head coach Scott Milanovich liked his matchups. He had Bo Levi Mitchell look deep on the second play from scrimmage, as Kiondre Smith was isolated against safety Jackson Findlay. The second-year Canadian committed the cardinal sin of undercutting the route as the last line of defence and couldn’t recover. The result was an effortless 56-yard touchdown for the home side.

The next drive was no different. Isolated one-on-one against Myron Mitchell, cornerback C.J. Coldon was cooked cleanly for 57 yards. A few plays later, Jake Dolegala plunged into the end zone to extend the lead. Tyson Russell would at least contest the next Hamilton shot down the field, but was flagged for pass interference, setting up an easy touchdown catch by Maximillian Mang. Late in the half, Lee was personally victimized by Kenny Lawler on a 49-yard touchdown.

Mitchell didn’t record an incompletion until 25 minutes had elapsed, entering the half with 218 passing yards to his name. The second half was merely an exercise in toying with his opponent, as the Ticats returned to basics, pumped up their rushing numbers, and methodically moved the ball down the field. B.C. fared little better.

The future Hall of Fame QB would tie a career high with five touchdowns, his last dropped in to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. with Findlay trailing helplessly in behind. I’m not sure he needed to shower after the game, as the Lions didn’t force him to break a sweat.

Finger pointing

You can’t dispute that the Lions’ defence has been an embarrassment through two games. The real question is who deserves to bear the blame for their outright failure to perform at any level. On that front, reasonable observers can disagree.

There are already fans publicly calling for the job of defensive coordinator Mike Benevides, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to argue with them. The fact that these problems have persisted over two seasons is damning, and there are schematic issues that are the direct responsibility of the coach. This team is doing too much and nothing well, with players not being placed in a position to succeed.

Jackson Findlay is a fantastic young prospect who excelled last year and consistently shines in practice, but man coverage is not his skill set. So why has the second-year safety so regularly been isolated through the first two weeks? Sometimes that is unavoidable, but for it to occur regularly suggests a fundamental miscalculation by the defensive play-caller.

However, in Benevides’  defence, everybody and their grandmother understood that the secondary was the Achilles heel of this team in 2025. Nothing of significance was done to address that issue this offseason, and it was clear that it would be a problem once again.

That shifts at least a portion of the blame onto general manager Ryan Rigmaiden and his staff, who felt that running it back with aging veterans like T.J. Lee and Garry Peters was an appropriate solution. Admittedly, they attempted to bring in Demerio Houston in free agency before previous domestic violence allegations caused them to backtrack, but resources were always going to be allocated elsewhere. Thus far, that has proven to be a mistake.

You have to wonder if any coach would perform better with the current group of overmatched defensive backs on the field, several of whom would not have suitors if they were released tomorrow. There is an easy transition plan in place if Benevides were shown the door, as both defensive backs coach Ryan Phillips and linebackers coach Mark Washington have been coordinators for this team before, but ultimately, you are pruning a tree to promote one of the branches.

These coverage issues have become as quintessentially British Columbian as Nanaimo bars or cedar plank salmon, and there isn’t a quick fix in sight. Coaches deserve to be on the hot seat, but the first message has to be sent with aggressive personnel changes.

The cursed and the damned

While B.C.’s defensive struggles are hypothetically fixable, the cause of their offensive woes isn’t nearly so easily mended.

The Lions began this football game without four starting receivers from their opener last week. Seven McGee and Jevon Cottoy were unable to finish that game and have both been placed on the six-game injured list, with the former potentially done for the year. Stanley Berryhill III, who gutted it out through a hamstring injury, joined them on the shelf. Then, Keon Hatcher tweaked his hamstring in practice this week, forcing him out of the lineup as a preventative measure.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a CFL team so rapidly and completely decimated at a single position. And things were about to get worse.

Kieran Poissant, who was the only backup dressed last week, went down late in the first half after receiving a knee to the back during an attempted cut block on a play whistled dead by penalty. He had to be carried off the field and was carted off the sideline at halftime, unable to return. The Westshore Rebels product showed positive flashes with three catches for 47 yards, and his injury is another blow.

Even Justin McInnis, the last starter standing, appeared to tweak his ankle after running into the ad boards late in the game. He managed to stay on the field, but will need to be monitored this week.

The reality is that B.C. is constructed to win in a foot race. They rely on their high-priced offensive weapons shining to distract from defensive flaws, and that was never more important than this week. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the horses. Jermaine Jackson, Silas Bolden, and Jaden Williams all had middling offensive performances, which does not bode well for the short-term future.

Seeing red

Despite the limitations at receiver, Nathan Rourke was able to move the ball in this game — he just couldn’t finish.

Twice in the first half, the Lions marched into the red zone with a chance to put pressure on the Tabbies. Rourke threw his first incompletion of the game when targeting Poissant on a slant in the end zone on the first, then hung a pass out wide to James Butler that got him obliterated by Reggie Stubblefield, who made a sensational play to track the running back through traffic. On the second trip, Rourke lost control of the ball while trying to double-clutch, then overthrew Poissant as he broke open to the corner.

On the broadcast, Luke Willson suggested that the miss was a result of poor chemistry with a new receiver. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Poissant and Rourke work together daily throughout the offseason. While all the team’s top weapons stayed in the Lower Mainland this year, you could still argue that Poissant has been the QB’s most frequent target in training, and they’ve built a strong rapport. This was an inexcusable and costly error.

Most will point to Rourke’s interception as his worst throw on a night where he fought valiantly against long odds, but it will be his struggles in the red zone that haunt him.

An ode to L. Frank Baum

Speaking of red zone faux pas, head coach Buck Pierce needs to realize that his decision-making sends a message to the team. In Hamilton, that message was that winning wasn’t particularly important.

In a game where the Lions were at a clear disadvantage before kickoff and fell behind almost instantly, field goals just weren’t going to cut it. And yet, Sean Whyte trotted out onto the field four times for kicks that served as little more than lipstick on a pigskin, including makes of 17 and 14 yards.

Chasing points early in football games might be a fool’s errand on most occasions, but things are different when you need to spark a miracle. Chip-shot field goals, on this occasion, were as good as waving a white flag.

Worse yet, it seemed that Pierce couldn’t make up his mind about whether the team would fight or concede. He ignored plenty of opportunities ripe for a third-down gamble, but dialled up a handoff to James Butler on third-and-two from his own 26-yard line late in the third quarter when the Ticats were already up 22. The predictable turnover on downs led to another easy Hamilton touchdown.

Of all the times to get aggressive, that was the least likely to bear fruit. He also conservatively kept his challenge flag in his pocket all night, despite opportunities to use it. The stark contrast between Scott Milanovich’s competitive fire on the home sideline and Pierce’s placability to defeat did not flatter the second-year head coach.

Summer school

Last week, Stanley Berryhill’s decision to return a missed field goal rather than letting it bounce harmlessly out of bounds proved to be a critical error. I’ve been told the receiver was reminded at least three times not to touch that ball before he took to the field, but the mistake was still made.

You’d think that would have been a major point of emphasis once again in the lead-up to Friday. But, alas, new returner Silas Bolden still ignored reason by catching a Marc Liegghio shank short of the end line, then ran forward to be pinned at his own two-yard line. The decision cost his team 38 yards worth of field position on a night where they needed every inch.

However this critical piece of situational football is being communicated, it clearly isn’t working. Time to hit the books until the information is retained.

Every storm creates a Rainbow (Warrior)

If there was one bright spot in Hamilton, it was the emergence of rookie Canadian receiver Nick Cenacle. The fifth-round pick out of the University of Hawaii had moments of brilliance in his first CFL game, hauling in nine passes for 120 yards and two late touchdowns.

While you can debate whether the second major, thrown by Chase Brice in garbage time, should have counted, but the body control shown to tap the toes was impressive. Cenacle was also reliable at the sticks and showed a little wiggle after the catch. For a player who was counted out by eight franchises in the draft due to a slow forty-time, he looked pretty quick to me.

The Lions are going to need Cenacle to step up big time over the next few weeks and assume a role larger than most mid-round selections can dream of. He appears ready to deliver, which is a thin silver lining.

Charging double

Mathieu Betts is slated to earn $270,000 from the Lions this season. I would argue that is a particularly steep rate, given that he seems intent on playing just half the games for a second year in a row.

Of course, the reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player was on the field in Hamilton this week, not that you would have noticed him. The Lions’ pass rush was invisible for the second straight game, and the burden of changing that has to fall most firmly on their highest-priced member.

It’s easy to forget that Betts had just four sacks until Week 13 of last season, before rattling off 11 in six games to win his second trophy. That isn’t a perfect metric to measure effectiveness for a pass rusher, but it isn’t meaningless either. The Laval product does have one sack already this year, but his slow start has mirrored 2025 in every other way. That can’t become a trend when you are supposed to be the league’s best at your position and are being paid like it.

Viral transmission

After the Lions’ injury pandemic ravaged its way through the receiving corps, it found another target: the offensive line. Left guard Brandon Yates and right tackle Dejon Allen both went down in the fourth quarter, which forced defensive tackle Nathan Cherry to switch jerseys and play offence in garbage time.

It is unclear whether either injury is serious, but Allen’s is especially concerning given his recent history. The Lions have a lot of offensive line depth under contract, though much of it is already on the six-game injured list. It will be interesting to see if either Josh Donovan or Isiah Cage is ready for an emergency early activation.

Overall, I thought the starting five underwhelmed for a second time. Rourke was sacked three times, though he was pressured more often. The scrutiny in the trenches won’t intensify until the defence is fixed, but the approach to that position has striking similarities to the secondary.

A little help, please?

The Lions’ kick coverage units have quietly been a weakness to start the year, and Isaiah Wooden very nearly made his offence obsolete on a couple of returns. The only thing stopping him was punter Carl Meyer, who made two touchdown-saving tackles on kickoffs and another on punt, though that was erased by a Hamilton penalty.

Pierre Kemeni eventually dragged down the returner with 43 seconds remaining in the game to ensure the South African rugby player wasn’t alone on the special teams stat sheet. Still, Meyer’s activity level is a foreboding factoid on a night full of them.

Apple picking season

The Lions will return home next week, if only technically. They’ll face the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, June 27, in the first of two games played at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna, while BC Place continues to be commandeered by the inferior form of football. If nothing else, the game should provide an incredible atmosphere, and I’m eager to make the trip up.

Like many analysts, I had pegged the Lions as Grey Cup favourites before the season and predicted them to have the league’s best record, as well. That take isn’t looking particularly smart these days, though it should be noted that my prognostication of their record included them losing their first two games. Banner-raising day in Saskatchewan, followed by a short week and a cross-country trip to Hamilton were always going to be difficult.

With that said, the Lions were soundly outplayed last week and embarrassed in this one — results I did not expect. They need to kick themselves into gear quickly, or risk digging too deep a hole. Hopefully, a change of scenery can help.

J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.