The Hamilton Tiger-Cats built this season on discipline. Fewest penalties on offense in the league, clean protection up front, a quarterback room that didn't turn the ball over. On August 22, all of that came apart at once — in the rain, in the fourth quarter, in a game head coach Scott Milanovich admits his team "didn't play particularly well" in during the second half.
Four sacks. A flurry of pre-snap penalties. A blown lead. And afterward, nobody in the locker room had a clean explanation for any of it.
A Clean Team Suddenly Isn't
Offensive lineman Brandon Revenberg didn't dress it up. Asked about the four sacks allowed, he put it squarely on the group up front.
"No, I mean, it's, it's, that's on us. It's on the O-line. I felt like we took a big step last week and we took a step back this week. So it's going to be watch the film, make the corrections, get better." — Brandon Revenberg
Revenberg didn't have a tidy answer for why a team that's been the least penalized on offense all season suddenly looked out of sync. "No, no, it's something that we got to break down, take a look at," he said. "I don't want to be too dramatic about it."
Ford Takes Ownership
Quarterback Tre Ford shouldered a lot of it himself. He pointed to a slow start — "2-2 notes to start, I think, or something like that" — and a run of pre-snap penalties he estimated at around five on the night. "We took too many pre-snap penalties in that game," Ford said. "We gotta communicate better, get the plays out."
When asked directly about the breakdown in discipline from a team that's been clean all year, Ford didn't dodge it.
"Yeah, I mean, I think a big part of it was my fault, right? I mean, the quarterback is the one who has to communicate everything, get the plays called in the time given, and go out there and execute. So all those are on me." — Tre Ford
He also broke down one of the sacks in detail, pointing to a missed read on a hot route in the red zone. "There's sometimes I messed up my hot down there the one time on the red zone, that was my fault. They had 2 off the edge... but he wasn't the hot and I wasn't looking there," Ford said. "I just gotta tune in on what I'm doing and be better."
On playing without starter Bo Levi Mitchell, Ford was matter-of-fact. "Was it ideal that Bo got hurt? No. But us as the quarterback room have to step up and try to be better for our team. And I think we need our whole team to step up better as well."
Milanovich Wants Answers, Doesn't Blame the Weather
Milanovich made clear the rain wasn't the real issue — the communication breakdowns continued even when the skies cleared.
"Obviously our communication wasn't what it needs to be. I can't imagine that the weather had any factor in it. It was coming down pretty hard, but the communication still wasn't as good as it needed to be in the third quarter when it wasn't raining. We obviously got to get to the bottom of it." — Scott Milanovich
Milanovich was also asked whether his absence from the team that week — for personal family reasons — played any role in the offensive miscommunication. He didn't shy away from the question.
"I hope not, but obviously when you're in a situation like I was in this week, it was a tough week and I hated leaving the family I've got in that room. I have a lot of responsibilities, not just as a father, but also as the head coach of an organization. And to be honest with you, this one wasn't that tough." — Scott Milanovich
On Ford's inconsistency in the passing game — the head-scratching mix of rope throws and balls bounced off the turf — Milanovich framed it as part of a young quarterback's development. "That's what Trey needs to get better at is consistency in the passing game. And he's still a young player that's got a lot of football left in front of him and we'll keep working on it. He's improving."
As for the second-half collapse in the trenches, Milanovich said Hamilton lost the game in all three phases after halftime. "We obviously left halftime with the lead. We didn't play as well defensively, obviously didn't play as well offensively, turned one over there in the fourth quarter. Never really got momentum back going in the fourth quarter." On the sacks specifically, he wasn't ready to assign blame yet: "It was probably a little bit of both. It usually is a combination of a number of things. I can let you know that on Monday."
Bigger Picture: A Brutal Stretch Looms
The frustrating part for Hamilton is the timing. This loss came in a game Revenberg admitted "was going to be a big game too," and now the Ticats turn around into a stretch that could define their playoff position — Calgary this week, Toronto the week after.
"Oh, they're huge. They're huge. Put that behind us, learn from it, get better, and then get after these next 2 games." — Brandon Revenberg
Ford, for his part, is treating the schedule with a shrug — win the season series against Toronto now or on Labour Day, it's still just business. "We play Toronto whenever we play them. It's just gonna be another regular 2 weeks for us. I'm focused on Calgary this week."
Hamilton has the talent to bounce back — this is still a team that's been disciplined and physical up front for most of the year. But Milanovich, Ford and Revenberg all know the film session ahead won't be a fun one. How Hamilton responds against Calgary will say a lot about whether this was one bad night in the rain or something the Ticats need to actually fix before the stretch run.
Watch the Full Videos
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Brandon Revenberg | Media Availability | August 22, 2026
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Tre Ford | Media Availability | August 22, 2026
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Scott Milanovich | Media Availability | August 22, 2026