A five-game losing streak has the 4-7 BC Lions on the outside of the playoffs looking in, while a pair of wins has the 6-5 Hamilton Tiger-Cats back eyeing first in the East. An East cross-over, another option for the Lions’ playoff hopes, would be eliminated too with a Hamilton dub.

Michael Reilly’s conveniently failed to reach 300 yards passing in any of BC’s five last losses. Jeremiah Masoli’s passed for 300-plus in each of his last three starts — cementing himself as the Ti-Cats’ guy under centre. Both pivots can chuck the ball with ease and create big plays in the blink of an eye. It makes Friday’s 7 p.m. EST kickoff at Tim Hortons Field a must-watch.

CFL Odds and Betting

The air attack is where this game will be decided. The Lions don’t run the football (their 146 rushing attempts are 52 fewer than any CFL team), and rank third in yards per pass, pass efficiency, and passing touchdowns. Hamilton’s a top-two passing defence in completion percentage against, yards per pass against, and 30-yard completions against. Then on the flip side, Masoli’s doing just fine without receivers Bralon Addison and Brandon Banks, plus the Lions’ defence is now dead last in passing yards against.

The quarterbacks alone make it little surprise that 10 of the last 15 Lions–Tabbies meetings have gone over, with BC on a 7-3 run against the spread over Hamilton too. Hamilton is a 6.5-point favourite to win on the CFL odds, with the over-under listed at 43.5.

BC Lions

BC’s most recent loss came down to the wire as they fell short on a two-point conversion to lose 31-29 in overtime at Toronto. Kicker Jimmy Camacho went zero for three on field goal attempts, which evidently cost BC in such a tight game.

On the bright side, Bryan Burnham had five receptions for 96 yards and a score and Dominique Rhymes added six grabs for 68 yards and a touchdown in his return to the lineup.

Defensive starters T.J. Lee (halfback), Jalon Edwards-Cooper (safety), and J.R. Tavai (defensive line) all missed practice Tuesday with injuries — something to monitor as the week goes on.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton got Banks back for a half in Edmonton last week, and he played arguably his best span of football this season. The reigning MOP caught four balls for 60 yards before exiting with a hamstring injury. He was a full practice participant Tuesday.

Before Banks even went down, Masoli and the offence was feeling it. Tim White had a game-high 89 yards, Steven Dunbar had three grabs for 76 yards, and Jaelon Acklin recorded a 65-yard touchdown. All three found the end zone.

Winning at Hamilton is tough, never mind when key areas (pass game) swing in their favour.

CFL Prediction: Who Will Win Lions vs. Tiger-Cats?