Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are no less playoff-bound heading into the bye than they were the week before, but the true identity of the team is more elusive than ever.

In the aftermath of his team’s second resounding loss in three weeks, head coach Scott Milanovich was frank when asked which version of the Ticats was the real one.

“We’re gonna find out next week,” he said at the podium before walking off.

Hamilton suffered a 37-20 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, blowing a chance to clinch the top spot in the East Division, a first-round playoff bye, and hosting privileges for the East Final.

The loss came courtesy of a slow start, as the team was kept out of the end zone for the entirety of the first half and trailed 20-6 at the intermission. They gave the ball away four times, including a pair of interceptions thrown by Bo Levi Mitchell, and surrendered a whopping 211 yards on the ground.

“I don’t know if it was (coming out) flat; we just didn’t execute very well. Disappointed, certainly,” Milanovich said of the performance. “We gave them hope. We gave them confidence. Lost the turnover battle, lost the rushing battle and the physicality battle. Tried to make a little run that was too little, too late. We’ve got to start faster than that.”

The Ticats are just two weeks removed from the biggest blight on their record: a 40-3 drubbing at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. While the scoreline this time around was more flattering, both losses were marred by missed opportunities, offensive inefficiency, and an uncharacteristic lack of fire.

Following that first blowout, Bo Levi Mitchell came out swinging at the podium, deflecting his coach’s attempts to shoulder the blame and demanding more from his teammates. This time around, he was far more subdued, stating that a second slip-up in the hunt for first place doesn’t cause him much concern.

“Not particularly with this room,” the veteran QB insisted. “I understand the words coming from the outside or the question from (the media). I’ve spoken about it all season that it wasn’t, to me, these last couple of games about clinching. It’s more about going out there and playing great football and let the win take care of itself.”

“They came out and had a better plan. We didn’t execute as players the way we have to. That’s our job. If you take care of your job, myself in particular, we’re just in a lot better position to go out there and get a win.”

Hamilton has a proven ability to bounce back, as evidenced by the victory sandwiched between the two losses. Mitchell and company beat the brakes off the Toronto Argonauts with a 47-29 scoreline that flattered the opposition, exploding for 32 points in the first half and five total touchdowns.

The question looming over the remainder of the season is whether that performance is more representative of the team’s ability than their two recent blemishes.

“I think the Toronto one is definitely us,” said defensive back Destin Talbert. “That could have been us today. It could be us on any given day. It’s just a matter of going out there and making the plays. If you don’t, that’s the result.”

“I look around the locker room, I don’t feel concerned at all. I feel very confident. I’m in here wishing we did better, but I’ve lost no confidence.”

The Ticats still control their own destiny when it comes to finishing first in the East, needing only a victory in the regular-season finale — or a Montreal loss before then — to ensure the road to the Grey Cup runs through Hamilton Stadium.

However, the team will head on a bye next week before returning to action on Friday, October 24, against the Ottawa Redblacks. That will give them plenty of time to think about their identity — for better or for worse.

“I’m the kind of guy I’d rather get back on the field right now. I think a lot of guys probably feel that way,” Mitchell acknowledged. “It’s never a bad thing. I’m not going to complain about having a bye week and letting guys get healthy, and kind of recharge those batteries a little bit. But when it’s playoff football, man, you’re itching to go.”

“We’re obviously sour about the performance we put out there today, but we’ll go out there and we’ll figure out how to get better from it. We will.”