The Calgary Stampeders got a much-needed road win to close out their regular season in Edmonton, keeping alive the hopes of their first home playoff game since 2019.
After a 20-10 victory, the Stampeders now turn their eyes to the final two games of the season, which will determine not only their playoff opponent, but also where that game will be played.
Here’s what I saw from my living room.
Adams manages
Another week, another consistent winning performance from Vernon Adams Jr. — 285 yards with 17 completions on 24 throws, no touchdowns but also no interceptions.
While the Calgary offence could not be described as “firing on all cylinders,” scoring just 20 points, it also never really seemed like the Stampeders were struggling either.
An opening drive that went for a touchdown showed Adams’ precision passing, as he threaded the ball to his receivers and combined that with effective runs from Dedrick Mills to take the ball 78 yards for a major.
Jones, but no cigar
Tevin Jones was stopped just short of the goal line on that first drive, preventing him from scoring his fifth TD of the season, which would have tied a career high.
Jones has been a reliable piece of the Stampeders’ offence this year. His numbers may not be as eye-popping as some, but he has a knack for timely catches and decent yards after the catch, which means defences can’t afford to sleep on him.
Jones averaged just over 13 yards per completion in the regular season.
Brooks does more than babble
Speaking of eye-popping performances, Erik Brooks made the most of his opportunity with Jalen Philpot out of the lineup.
Brooks had five catches on six targets for 136 yards, which is a solid number, but when you consider that 115 yards came after the catch, it becomes a spectacular performance.
Pair those numbers with a pass interference call Brooks drew that also moved the ball 30 yards downfield, and he had a heck of a day.
Mills locks it down
I’m not saying that Dedrick Mills has won the rushing title as of the writing of this, as all three of Brady Oliveira, A.J. Ouellette, and James Butler have one game left.
That said, Butler is the closest of the three and would need 224 yards to pass Mills.
Mills was likely champing at the bit to take sole possession of the league rushing TD title as well, but it was left to short-yardage QB Quincy Vaughn, who punched it in twice from the one and held Mills to 11 rushing majors on the season.
With 1,409 rushing yards and another 292 through the air while playing in all 18 games this season, Mills was as dominant as everyone thought he could be if he could just stay healthy. His previous career high was 14 games played in 2023.
Mills came out of the gate hot in this game, taking the ball on the first three plays from scrimmage and running for 16, 11, and five yards, respectively. He would finish the game with 69 yards on 17 carries.
Returning to form
For a minute there, the Stampeders’ defence looked like a shell of its former self.
At the beginning of the season, the defence was the talk of the league, shutting down team after team on their way to an 8-3 start, including the Labour Day Classic.
During that stretch, they allowed teams to get to 30 points just once, kept their opponents to 20 points or less seven times, and were allowing just 19.45 points per game for a total of 214 points against.
It was shortly thereafter that the team found themselves mired in a four-game losing streak that threatened their season and a potential playoff push. During that stretch, they allowed 159 points or 39.75 per game — more than double the amount previously scored.
To finish the regular season, they are once again back to the early-season form, surrendering 20, 13, and 10 points respectively to their final three opponents.
To have a shot at playoff success, it’s pretty clear which version of this Stampeders’ defence needs to show up in the West Semi-Final.
Hurting his Rankin
Justin Rankin has been the most explosive player on the Edmonton Elks this season and took the Stampeders’ defence to the woodshed in their last matchup, going off for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Cue the Michael Jordan clip from The Last Dance when he says, “And I took that personally.”
Rankin was swallowed up anytime he got the ball in the backfield, gaining just one yard on nine carries. He also added a Leon Lett-style fumble on what should have been a touchdown catch, as he had the ball punched out from behind just before crossing the goalline, only to leave it on the ground and begin celebrating.
The Stampeders would recover the ball in the end zone, and after replay review, it was determined that Rankin did not cross the plane before losing control of the ball.
To his credit, the referees signalled touchdown and blew the whistle, but leaving the ball on the ground in that situation is inexcusable. Not just for Rankin, but also for the many other offensive players who stepped over the live ball to join the celebration.
If any of them picked up the ball, the Elks would have had a touchdown instead of a Stampeders’ touchback that put the ball on the Calgary 30-yard line.
The other side of that coin
Credit for that play for the defence has to be split among two players.
The first is Bailey Devine-Scott, who hustled back to punch the ball out in the first place.
The Australian-born defensive back has been a standout on special teams for the Stampeders over the last few seasons and is now earning starts at safety as he continues to progress as a player.
The second player who deserves credit for the play is someone who had a monster day and deserves their own thought.
I’d like to report a Roberts-ry
Jacob Roberts has been a revelation this season for the Stampeders. After joining the team last August, Roberts got into a starting role a few games into the 2025 season and has not looked back.
Against the Elks, Roberts had nine tackles, two sacks, and a tackle for loss. Though he was initially credited with the fumble recovery mentioned above, Dolani Robinson actually recovered the fumble on the play.
Roberts is the latest in a growing list of spectacular linebackers to patrol the turf in Calgary, and finished his year with 102 total tackles, including nine on special teams, and four sacks. At just 24 years old, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him get a look south of the border in the offseason.
A touching moment and political statement?
I will start with a disclaimer: my wife is a teacher here in Alberta, and for those unaware, the teachers are currently involved in a labour dispute that began with a strike, and continues with a lockout from the Alberta government that has led to schools being closed for the last three weeks.
With that context, it was relatively heart-warming to see the Elks using teachers to man the flags for the anthem prior to the game, especially considering that the majority of them were sporting red as a part of the “Red for Ed” campaign.
It was an especially meaningful statement, as it could certainly be seen as taking sides against the Alberta government in a way that most organizations are unwilling to. The Elks also offered discounted tickets for teachers who have now gone three weeks without a paycheque.
The day before, the Calgary Stampede committee backtracked and cancelled a pancake breakfast event for teachers, claiming that the original donor backed out at the last minute.
Kudos to the Elks for not bowing to political pressure in a hostile environment.
Next up
The Stampeders know they are playing in the West-Semi Final, but they don’t know where or who they will be playing.
All scenarios exist with B.C., Winnipeg, and Calgary as of this writing, with the only certainty being that Calgary will be in the game by virtue of sweeping the Bombers in the first half of the season.
Editor’s note: a previous version of this article credited Jacob Roberts for the fumble recovery, though it was actually Dolani Robinson. We have corrected this in line with a correction in the CFL’s official stats.
Ryan Ballantine is a lifelong Stamps fan and host of the Go Stamps Go Show Podcast. He has been covering the team since 2008.
