# 2018 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season

The 2018 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 61st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 69th overall. The Tiger-Cats improved upon their 6–12 record from 2017 and clinched a playoff berth and home playoff date during their bye in week 17 following the Montreal Alouettes' loss to the Calgary Stampeders. After defeating the BC Lions in the East Semi-Final, the Tiger-Cats lost to the Ottawa Redblacks in the East Final. This was the third season under general manager Eric Tillman and first full season under head coach June Jones following his interim role the year before.

## Offseason
### Notable signings

During the offseason, the Tiger-Cats signed controversial free agent quarterback Johnny Manziel, who played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) before being released in 2015 for incidents on and off the field. The Manziel signing was part of a tumultuous negotiation process that lasted over a year.

### CFL draft

The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018. The Tiger-Cats held the first overall draft pick following a trade with the Montreal Alouettes and selected wide receiver Mark Chapman with that pick. This was the first time since the 2013 CFL Draft that they selected first overall. In total, the team had nine selections in the eight-round draft, including four picks in the first 15 selections after trading John Chick to the Edmonton Eskimos and Zach Collaros to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 1 | Mark Chapman | WR | Central Michigan |
| 1 | 6 | Darius Ciraco | OL | Calgary |
| 2 | 11 | Jackson Bennett | DB | Ottawa |
| 2 | 15 | Brett Wade | DL | Calgary |
| 4 | 31 | Marcus Davis | WR | British Columbia |
| 5 | 37 | Justin Buren | WR | Simon Fraser |
| 6 | 44 | Michael Moore | LB | Queen's |
| 8 | 62 | Joel Van Pelt | DL | Calgary |
| 8 | 66 | Nicholas Parisotto | DB | Guelph |

## Preseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| A | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| B | Fri, June 1 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Toronto Argonauts | L 18–36 | 0–1 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | NA | Recap |
| C | Sat, June 9 | 12:00 p.m. EDT | @ Montreal Alouettes | W 30–15 | 1–1 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 12,325 | Recap |

### Game summaries
#### Toronto

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Argonauts | 10 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 36 |
| Tiger-Cats | 0 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 |
at Tim Hortons Field • Hamilton, Ontario
* Date: Friday, June 1, 2018
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
* TV: TSN
* Source
Game information :
First Quarter
(8:01) Toronto FG: S. Waters 42-yard field goal Toronto 3–0
(2:11) Toronto TD: C. Worthy 3-yard pass from M. Bethel-Thompson, R. Pfeffer kick Toronto 10–0
Second Quarter
(12:10) Toronto FG: S. Waters 33-yard field goal Toronto 13–0
(8:16) Hamilton TD: B. Banks 9-yard pass from J. Masoli, kick missed Toronto 13–6
(0:51) Toronto TD: B. Burks 54-yard pass from M. Bethel-Thompson, R. Pfeffer kick Toronto 20–6
(0:11) Toronto TD: M. Bethel-Thompson 1-yard rush, kick missed Toronto 26–6
Third Quarter
(8:54) Toronto TD: J. Franklin 1-yard rush, S. Waters kick Toronto 33–6
(0:00) Hamilton TD: F. Williams 74-yard punt return, L. Hajrullahu kick Toronto 33–13
Fourth Quarter
(10:56) Hamilton FG: L. Hajrullahu 54-yard field goal Toronto 33–16
(6:53) Toronto FG: S. Waters 32-yard field goal Toronto 36–16
(0:52) Hamilton SFTY: Team loss of 5 yards, safety Toronto 36–18
Top Passers
TOR – McLeod Bethel-Thompson: 9/11, 122 yards, 2 TD
HAM – Jeremiah Masoli: 8/13, 115 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Top Rushers
TOR – Greg Morris: 7 carries, 25 yards
HAM – Mercer Timmis: 10 carries, 56 yards
Top Receiving
TOR – Cole Watson: 3 receptions, 52 yards
HAM – Brandon Banks: 4 receptions, 72 yards, 1 TD :

#### At Montreal

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tiger-Cats | 0 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 30 |
| Alouettes | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
at Tim Hortons Field • Hamilton, Ontario
* Date: Saturday, June 9, 2018
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* TV: TSN/RDS
* Source

## Regular season
### Season Standings

East Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 464 | 420 | 6–2 | W3 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 513 | 456 | 4–4 | L3 | Details |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 345 | 512 | 4–4 | W2 | Details |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 369 | 560 | 2–6 | L2 | Details |

### Season Schedule

| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| 1 | 1 | Sat, June 16 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | @ Calgary Stampeders | L 14–28 | 0–1 | TSN/ESPN2 | McMahon Stadium | 23,717 | Recap |
| 2 | 2 | Fri, June 22 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | @ Edmonton Eskimos | W 38–21 | 1–1 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 31,334 | Recap |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, June 29 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 31–17 | 2–1 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Tim Hortons Field | 23,721 | Recap |
| 4 | 4 | Thurs, July 5 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | @ Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 13–18 | 2–2 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 30,594 | Recap |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | 5 | Thurs, July 19 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 20–31 | 2–3 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,346 | Recap |
| 7 | 6 | Sat, July 28 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Ottawa Redblacks | L 15–21 | 2–4 | TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 | Tim Hortons Field | 23,381 | Recap |
| 8 | 7 | Fri, Aug 3 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | @ Montreal Alouettes | W 50–11 | 3–4 | TSN/RDS/ESPN2 | Molson Stadium | 18,576 | Recap |
| 9 | 8 | Fri, Aug 10 | 8:30 p.m. EDT | @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 23–29 | 3–5 | TSN/RDS | Investors Group Field | 26,454 | Recap |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | 9 | Thu, Aug 23 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Edmonton Eskimos | W 25–24 | 4–5 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,281 | Recap |
| 12 | 10 | Mon, Sept 3 | 6:30 p.m. EDT | Toronto Argonauts | W 42–28 | 5–5 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | 24,221 | Recap |
| 13 | 11 | Sat, Sept 8 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | @ Toronto Argonauts | W 36–25 | 6–5 | TSN | BMO Field | 15,702 | Recap |
| 14 | 12 | Sat, Sept 15 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Calgary Stampeders | L 28–43 | 6–6 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,428 | Recap |
| 15 | 13 | Sat, Sept 22 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | @ BC Lions | L 32–35 (2OT) | 6–7 | TSN | BC Place | 18,794 | Recap |
| 16 | 14 | Sat, Sept 29 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | BC Lions | W 40–10 | 7–7 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | 23,623 | Recap |
| 17 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 18 | 15 | Fri, Oct 12 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | @ Toronto Argonauts | W 34–20 | 8–7 | TSN | BMO Field | 14,184 | Recap |
| 19 | 16 | Fri, Oct 19 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | @ Ottawa Redblacks | L 31–35 | 8–8 | TSN/RDS2 | TD Place Stadium | 23,534 | Recap |
| 20 | 17 | Sat, Oct 27 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Ottawa Redblacks | L 13–30 | 8–9 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,329 | Recap |
| 21 | 18 | Sat, Nov 3 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Montreal Alouettes | L 28–30 | 8–10 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 23,381 | Recap |

## Post-season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Score | Record | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary |
| East Semi-Final | Sun, Nov 11 | 1:00 p.m. EST | BC Lions | W 48–8 | 1–0 | TSN/RDS/ESPNews | Tim Hortons Field | 23,911 | Recap |
| East Final | Sun, Nov 18 | 1:00 p.m. EST | @ Ottawa Redblacks | L 27–46 | 1–1 | TSN/RDS/ESPNews | TD Place Stadium | 24,108 | Recap |