There’s an argument they’re better than their 3-5 record, and they get a chance to prove that Thursday with a visit to the red-hot Tiger-Cats<\/p>\n
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Published Aug 06, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Frustration isn\u2019t a dirty word with Mike Benevides these days.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. 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Lions veteran defensive coordinator, whose team gets its latest crack to find traction in this CFL season on Thursday, carrying a 3-5 record into a visit to the 6-2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIf they (Lions players) are pissed off, they should be. We all are. It doesn\u2019t feel like a 3-5 team because of the morale, the talent, how they execute, how they practise. All those things are what you want to see. That frustration is not a bad thing. I\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey care. You see it in how they come back wanting to do the work. You see it in how they communicate. You see the text messages at night, doing the extra work. It matters to them. If they didn\u2019t care or if they felt there was no chance, then it would be different.<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cFrustration is OK. Like I told them, we\u2019ve been around a long, long time and I can tell them all the stories \u2014 from 0-5 to 5-0 and all the rest, from a 5-9 team to winning the Grey Cup in 2001 (with the Calgary Stampeders). All those things are good if you place them in the right place. And I think the men are in the right place.\u201d<\/p>\n Canucks Report<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Lions are coming off a bye week. Their last action was July 27, when they gave up a 10-point lead in the final three minutes in a 37-33 setback to the Tiger-Cats at B.C. Place.<\/p>\n B.C. has two victories this season over the 1-6 Edmonton Elks. Their other win was a walk-off on a Sean Whyte field goal versus the Montreal Alouettes. That\u2019s all true.<\/p>\n There have been stretches, though, like in the Hamilton game where they\u2019ve also looked every bit a legit contender. And then there have been these lapses like in Hamilton game where they\u2019ve simply failed to make plays. Penalties, missed tackles, failed connections on offence have been among the culprits along the way.<\/p>\n The stats show some of that. The Lions lead the CFL in net offence (408.3 yards per game). They\u2019re seventh in scoring (24.5 points per game). They\u2019re second in net defence (344 yards per game). They\u2019re sixth in points against (27 per game).<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Lions running back James Butler leads the CFL in rushing yards (619), averaging a career-best 5.5 yards per carry. There have been six 100-yard rushing games in the CFL this season and Butler had three them, including going for 115 yards on 16 carries in that last Hamilton game.<\/p>\n B.C. is eighth in the league in turnover ratio (minus-eight). They did take a step forward in that regard in the most recent outing against Hamilton at least, winning that category on the night 3-1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have all the pieces to be an undefeated team,\u201d said Lions left tackle Jarell Broxton. \u201cI feel like we beat ourselves. That\u2019s what practice is for \u2014 so we can clean up the mistakes. Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about everybody focusing, everybody doing their job. It takes everybody on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Lions head coach Buck Pierce added: \u201cThings are going to happen throughout a game and we can\u2019t let four or five plays determine outcomes of games. We have to be able to move on and use that adversity as a tool for us. In certain instances, we\u2019ve done that, but that\u2019s something you always have to work on and go through.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The last time the Lions started a season 3-5 was in 2018. They wound up 9-9 that year, which was good enough for fourth spot in the West Division, but put them before the third-place team in the East and gave B.C. the playoff crossover. B.C. lost that East semifinal to Hamilton by a 48-8 count.<\/p>\n The crossover is at play this season for the Lions, considering they\u2019ve already lost twice to both the 7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 4-3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, giving those teams the tiebreaker with the Lions. B.C. has two more games with the 5-3 Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n The Toronto Argonauts are currently third in the East, at 2-6.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the guys really enjoy coming out here to work,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a tight group. I think it\u2019s a group that understands we have got to be better and it\u2019s not just one area \u2014 it\u2019s everything. That\u2019s what you really enjoy about the group \u2014 \u2018there\u2019s things to be fixed, lets get them fixed and lets get to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Teams coming out of a bye week this season in the CFL are 5-5.<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s on a six-game win streak. A win Thursday would make it the Tiger-Cats\u2019 best start since the 2019, when they began 7-2 and reached the Grey Cup. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is 13-7 all-time against B.C. going into the game.<\/p>\n Hamilton has outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter in all of its eight games this season, with their combined total coming in at 103-59.<\/p>\n Eight of the past 13 matchups between Hamilton and B.C. since 2017 have been decided in the final three minutes.<\/p>\n x.com\/steveewen<\/a><\/p>\n SEwen@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n![\"B.C.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cp174809755_297900075.jpg\")
B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke (12) throws the ball away as Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Julian Howsare (95) and Philip Ossai (46) nearly sack him during the first half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Photo by Darryl Dyck \/THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.2.5\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
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B.C. Lions\u2019 James Butler (20) runs the ball past Hamilton Tiger-Cats\u2019 Stavros Katsantonis (30) during the first half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Photo by DARRYL DYCK \/THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is to create a user group for Sports Writers, to pull stories into the sports slider widget on the home page.\u201dThis is to create a user group for Sports Writers, to pull stories into the sports slider widget on the home page.\u201d<\/p>\n
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