Buck Pierce threw a pair of touchdowns and Justin Palardy booted three field goals as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their fifth straight game with a 30-27 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night.
It was Winnipeg's first five-game win streak since 2003 and takes them to a CFL-leading 7-1 record, matching the 7-1 start of the 1984 Bomber squad.
Hamilton, which had won four of its last five games heading into the game, goes to 4-4.
Pierce completed 19-of-33 pass attempts with no interceptions.
The Bombers also got TDs from a 67-yard interception return by defensive back Jovon Johnson and a 17-yard catch by Clarence Denmark.
The teams were tied 27-27 at 2:51 of the fourth quarter after Bombers receiver Terrence Edwards caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season.
Winnipeg went ahead for good with Palardy's third field goal from 21 yards at 9:08. He also connected from 22 and 27 yards.
Ticats quarterback Kevin Glenn attempted to get a scoring drive going, but was relentlessly pressured by the league's top defence.
Glenn was 22-of-34 for 351 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Hamilton got its first TD off a 49-yard catch by Chris Williams, who was bumped out of bounds by Johnson while running down the sidelines, but got back onto the field to snag the pass from Glenn.
A CFL rule change this year states that if a player is pushed out of bounds by an opponent, he can return to the field of play and make a play. If he goes out of bounds on his own, or is bumped out of bounds by a teammate, he can't legally participate in the play.
Hamilton rookie receiver Bakari Grant also notched his first CFL touchdown with a 33-yard reception, while back-up quarterback Quinton Porter came in for a one-yard TD plunge.
Ticat kicker Justin Medlock was good on two of four field-goal tries, connecting from 28 and 39 yards and missing from 54 and 52.
Winnipeg led 10-3 after the first quarter, it was 17-17 at the half and Hamilton took a 24-20 lead into the fourth.
The Bombers scored on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter, while the Tiger-Cats did the same in the second quarter.
Johnson notched his interception return for a TD at 6:51, thanks to a key block by defensive back Jonathan Hefney close to the goal line.
Receiver Greg Carr, making his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury on July 1, hauled in a 29-yard pass that led to Palardy's first field goal at 10:38.
Hamilton responded with Medlock's 28-yard field goal. That made him good on 18-of-20 attempts this season.
The Bombers opened the second quarter with an eight-play, 87-yard drive ending with Denmark's second TD of the season and a 17-3 lead.
Hamilton came back with TDs on its next two possessions.
Williams scored his at 5:34, giving the five-foot-nine rookie out of New Mexico State his fourth major of the season.
Glenn followed that up with his TD toss to Grant, who hails from University of California-Davis. His older brother, Robert, used to play for the former Ottawa Renegades.
Medlock was then short from 54 and 52 yards out and the score remained 17-17 at the half.
Williams looked like he was going to score again early in the third, but after a 64-yard reception he fumbled at Winnipeg's one-yard line and Hefney recovered the ball.
Winnipeg couldn't do anything with the turnover, but they regained a 20-17 lead at 7:36 of the third with Palardy's second field goal.
Williams caught a break when Hefney was called for pass interference, giving the Ticats the ball on the one-yard line that led to Porter's TD and a 24-20 lead at 12:38.
Medlock hit from 39 yards and then Edwards notched his TD to tie the game 27-27 with just under three minutes into the fourth quarter.
The win came in front of a sellout of 30,338 fans at Canad Inns Stadium, with attendance boosted by 500 temporary seats and 305 people in end-zone tents.
It was Winnipeg's third consecutive sellout this season, plus the Sept. 11 home date against Saskatchewan is already sold out.
Notes: Hamilton QB Kevin Glenn moved past Tom Burgess (30,308 yards) into 13th place on the CFL all-timing passing yardage list. Glenn now has 30,635 career yards.