5 Takeaways as tired-looking Calgary Stampeders fall to Montreal Alouettes on late 58-yard field goal

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It looked like another winning week for the Calgary Stampeders …

Another K.O. of a contender in line for the Canadian Football League belt.

But after handling everything the three-down circuit has thrown at them, it didn’t go the way of the transitioned team Thursday night in a 23-21 loss to the Montreal Alouettes at McMahon Stadium.

Despite two touchdowns and a pile of yards from running back Dedrick Mills and a gutsy effort amid a bunch of games in a short period of time, the host Stampeders were dropped by the 2023 Grey Cup champions, who have been championship calibre for the past few CFL campaigns.

“Effort was good on our end,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson. “We had the lead most of the game. It was a hard-fought game. I think both teams were digging deep on their roster.

“We kind of ran out of some people there, and we were trying to adjust. And I just didn’t think we played winning football. We took too many penalties, and obviously, ball security (was a problem), as well. We had our chances — we just didn’t get the job done.”

It was a decision that came down to the wire but didn’t finish the way it did in previous adventures to other CFL top dogs in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Instead, it was the veteran Alouettes sticking close with the hosts all night and winning it on a monster 58-yard Jose Maltos field goal with just 70 seconds remaining, making for a tough way to lose.

It didn’t help that Stamps QB Vernon Adams Jr. was ineffective for long stretches of the game and then was lost to them for the fourth quarter, when he was sidelined presumably by a CFL spotter for a concussion check.

The end result kept the Stamps from climbing into top spot all by themselves in the CFL. Instead, the 5-2 record matches them with the Alouettes and leaves them behind the first-place 5-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“Hard-fought game — we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle,” said Stampeders receiver Dominique Rhymes. “(Maltos) made a 58-yarder. Hats off to them. That’s a great team. It was a battle. It was what we expected.”

Here are five takeaways from the Stampeders loss to the Alouettes at McMahon Stadium …

1) LOOKING TIRED

The Stamps had the early jump, but that tapered off in a hurry in what looked like a lacklustre effort at times, especially in the second and fourth quarters.

Call it the result of three games in 13 days.

That will tire out anybody in football, and even the momentum of early season success can’t get you through it completely.

You still need to dig deep, and the Stamps did just that in nearly gutting out the victory. But in the end, they just didn’t have enough, and fatigue can be considered as a plausible excuse in this case.

“When you’re tired … your technique is what you rely on,” Dickenson said. “That could be your aiming point, that could be your hand placement and things like that, and we didn’t do that well.”

2) ADAMS FAMILY

There’s no doubt this is Adams’ team.

When he went cold in the second quarter, falling to connect on eight straight passes after finding veteran pass-catcher Rhymes in behind the defence for a 33-yard touchdown strike, the Stamps lost their rhythm.

Then when the dynamic QB was sidelined for the entire fourth quarter, the Stamps failed to move the ball with any effectiveness. That resulted in no points for the home side against nine put up by the Alouettes — all on Maltos field goals — in the final frame.

“I’m expecting it was on the one hit,” said Dickenson, of the Tyrice Beverette lick on Adams, when the QB was trying to scramble for a first down late in the third quarter. “I’m not really going to speculate on what happened. But I know that he went in the tent and didn’t come back, so that was obviously something that we know can happen.”

“That’s our brother, and it hurts,” said Rhymes, of Adams. “But it’s professional sports. You’ve got to keep moving, keep truckin’.”

Unfortunately, Stamps backup QB P.J. Walker was listless and off the mark in his time to shine. He was just 3-of-7 for 20 passing yards, after Adams put up 193 and one TD strike on 15-of-25 efficiency.

“A lot of teams are playing with their backup QB, including Montreal,” said Dickenson, referring to the loss of Als starting pivot Davis Alexander to a leg injury last week. “So we have to be able to function and get points and get first downs, and we weren’t able to do it.”

Meanwhile, Als QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson was a star on the night — making the them forget about phenom Alexander for at least a game — with 280 yards and a TD through the air in a 30-of-40 effort.

3) POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

Scoring after forcing turnovers has become a staple of Stampeders’ victories. They are tops in the league in that department, with more than 60 after Thursday night.

And it was on display early again in the contest with the Alouettes.

They converted a league-leading fourth interception by cornerback Adrian Greene into the first points of the game.

It was an unforced pass by Bethel-Thompson that Greene simply stepped in front of to execute the big play.

And a few plays later, Dedrick Mills went rumbling into the end zone, carrying would-be tacklers, as he did most of the night — which was highlighted by two majors — by the handful.

Mills was super effective for the most part, rumbling for nearly 70 yards and the pair of touchdowns until his fumble late in the third quarter.

While the Alouettes didn’t turn that into points, they did turn it into momentum and then made the most of their chances in the end, staying close enough through the night and capitalizing late when it mattered most.

“We ran the ball well for three quarters but not the fourth quarter,” Dickenson said. “And that’s when you need to run the ball. And we just didn’t do it.”

While they weren’t technically turnovers, too many two-and-outs by the Stampeders kept giving the visitors enough possessions to complete the comeback, especially the late ones.

Ouch.

4) INJURIES, INJURIES

It wasn’t just Adams being knocked out of the game that hurt the Red and White.

Two other big reasons why the Stampeders are enjoying early season success is because of the productivity of Greene on defence and receiver Damien ‘Moose’ Alford on offence.

But both were sidelined Thursday night — Alford after his first and only catch of the game, with what looked like a hamstring injury, and Greene a few defensive plays after the key INT in the second quarter, with a lower-body issue, as well.

The loss of Greene was especially rough, as second-year defensive back Ben Labrosse was beaten on a few passes to help the Alouettes get back into the contest.

Two of the most talked about CFL players in recent weeks are likely out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.

5) WHERE ARE THE FANS?

It was a beautiful night for football — warm and sunny. And it was another strong effort, regardless of the result, for the Stamps.

But it wasn’t an overwhelming bunch of fans that showed up for Thursday night’s fun at McMahon.

The count was only 19,863 fans.

The CFL on a warm summer evening used to be a staple for sports fans in Calgary.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case any more despite the return of a winning team and reasonable rates to get in the gates compared to other pricey outings for Calgarians.

For those that did make it to the entertaining affair, it’s just too bad the Stamps didn’t pull out the victory.

However, it did take a magnificent 58-yard field goal to beat them, so consider the Red and White a two-loss team only due to some tough luck in both those drops.

“We started off well, had some good things,” added Dickenson. “They adjusted. We came in at halftime, found some things we thought we could use and scored (early in the third quarter). Then we had another drive going, and (Mills) fumbled.

“But then we kind of stalled, and then they made their other adjustments, and we didn’t.”

“It was just one of those lessons you’ve got to learn from early in the season,” added Rhymes. “We’ll keep fighting and get better each and every week.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM