{"id":171215,"date":"2025-09-26T18:50:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T18:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/171215\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T18:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T18:50:07","slug":"3-keys-to-victory-for-winnipeg-hamilton-in-week-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/171215\/","title":{"rendered":"3 keys to victory for Winnipeg, Hamilton in Week 17"},"content":{"rendered":"

WINNIPEG \u2014 The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet for the second time in three weeks when they open a Saturday doubleheader at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n

Hamilton took the first matchup, 32-21, back in Week 15 and sits in first place in the East Division with a 9-5 record.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg responded to that loss with a win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS last week.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s three keys to victory for both teams ahead of Saturday\u2019s 3:00 p.m. ET kickoff, which can be watched on TSN and CTV in Canada, and on CFL+ in the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n

RELATED
\u00bb Zach Collaros<\/a> to start for Bombers vs. Ticats<\/a>
\u00bb Depth Charts: HAM<\/a> | WPG<\/a>
\u00bb Game Notes: Tiger-Cats at Blue Bombers<\/a>
\u00bb Tickets: Hamilton at Winnipeg<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Injury Reports: Stay up to date<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Who\u2019s gonna win? Play CFL Pick \u2018Em presented by Old Dutch now!<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally<\/a><\/p>\n

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS<\/p>\n

1. GREG BELL BACK FOR MORE<\/p>\n

Consistency is critical in professional sports, and Hamilton running back Greg Bell<\/a> is figuring that out. Over his past three games, Bell has averaged 128.7 rushing yards per contest, which included 137 against Winnipeg. Seeing a defence for the second time in short order is his next challenge.<\/p>\n

2. SHARING THE FOOTBALL<\/p>\n

The Ticats\u2019 receiving corps is deep and has been stepping up: Kenny Lawler<\/a> remains quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell<\/a>\u2019s top target, but Kiondr\u00e9 Smith, Tim White<\/a>, Shemar Bridges<\/a> and even Bell are options to make big plays. With Winnipeg possessing a veteran secondary, Mitchell will take all the help he can get.<\/p>\n

3. DEFENDING THE RUN<\/p>\n

Hamilton has surrendered an even 1,500 yards on the ground over 14 games and was beaten for 116 on 15 carries by running back Brady Oliveira<\/a> two weeks ago. Linebacker Kyler Fisher<\/a>, who was active in that matchup with 11 defensive tackles, should be busy again.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS<\/p>\n

1. WELCOME BACK ZACH COLLAROS<\/p>\n

Quarterback Zach Collaros<\/a>\u2019 return from a head injury will be a big emotional boost for a team fighting for position in a close West Division race. The offensive line now needs to protect him from taking unnecessary contact at all costs.<\/p>\n

2. TURNOVERS<\/p>\n

Another interception tossed by Chris Streveler<\/a> against Ottawa brings Winnipeg\u2019s season total to 23. Hamilton, meanwhile, has forced 32 turnovers, resulting in 98 points. Not giving the talented Ticats offence additional chances will certainly be important to coming away with a win.<\/p>\n

3. BRADY OLIVEIRA<\/p>\n

With injuries and inconsistency under centre, all eyes have fallen on Brady Oliveira<\/a> of late, and this week should be no different. On top of the 116 yards he produced the last time these two teams met, he\u2019s also rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games.<\/p>\n

NEED TO KNOW:<\/p>\n

Winnipeg is 4-2 versus East Division opponents this season.
\nHamilton is 4-4 against the West Division.
\nQuarterback Zach Collaros returns for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after missing two games with a head injury.
\nKickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET, and can be watched on TSN and CTV in Canada, and on CFL+ in the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINNIPEG \u2014 The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet for the second time in three weeks when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-171215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}