5 Takeaways from Calgary Stampeders loss to visiting Ottawa Redblacks

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So much for the Calgary Stampeders’ celebrated start to the 2025 Canadian Football League season.

The weather and the Ottawa Redblacks rained on that parade Saturday at McMahon Stadium, keeping the team intent on turning around its failures of the past few years from revelling in a 3-0 beginning to the campaign.

Such a strong mark would’ve been welcome — and it wasn’t far from happening — but the Stampeders just couldn’t find their way to another win in the face of the elements and the Redblacks.

“I’m not sure we outplayed them,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson, following the 20-12 CFL contest played amid monsoon-like conditions. “It’s not one of those games where you look at it and say, ‘We coulda, shoulda …” continued Dickenson. “It was a really hard-fought game.

“Both teams played hard — and they got us.”

It was only by one score, with QB Vernon Adams Jr. unable to drive the home side to enough points in the contest. A fourth-quarter interception and a stalled scoring drive even later kept them from a comeback that seemed possible but somehow still out of the Stamps’ hands.

Indeed, it was the way it went in a tight game decided by a play or two which dropped the Stampeders to 2-1 and lifted the Redblacks to 1-2 in the standings.

“They just always had the lead,” Dickenson said. “It was only by a point here and or three there.

“But we just couldn’t find that momentum play to give us the lead and make us feel good about things. It just didn’t feel like our game. Certainly I think we could’ve won, but there’s some plays we should’ve made.”

Here are 5 takeaways from Saturday’s game at McMahon …

1. THIRD TIME NOT A CHARM

The Redblacks haven’t exactly been a juggernaut the past few CFL campaigns. But that hasn’t keep them from coming into McMahon and stealing away with victories three years running.

At 0-2 ahead of Saturday’s battle, the Redblacks seemed destined to drop a third-straight game to start the season, especially with the Stampeders enjoying a renaissance with two opening tallies in the win column.

Perhaps that thinking was premature.

Or was it just that the Redblacks were more prepared for the ugly weather coming in?

“We knew it might not be pretty,” Dickenson said. “It was going to be one of those grind-it-out games, and we just came up a few plays short.”

That’s really what it came down to in the decision.

You can’t say the roading Redblacks have their number or that they managed the conditions better.

It’s simply that a lack of execution on a couple of plays made a possible win a loss for the Stamps.

2. TURNOVER TROUBLE

That missed execution was compounded by a couple of key turnovers.

Timely ones, to be sure.

Twice with the score 3-2 for the Redblacks in the first half, the Stamps failed to convert on third-down gambles inside the visitors’ 10-yard line. In the first quarter, Adams had the ball slip out of his hands on a short-armed pass on a sure-fire touchdown pass to receiver Clark Barnes. And then in the second frame, P.J. Walker couldn’t fight through a free man to push into the endzone on a QB sneak.

“We couldn’t convert on the third downs, especially in tight (of their endzone),” Dickenson said. “Those two third downs we decided to go for inside the (10-yard line), I mean … I thought it was the right thing.

“I thought if you could get a lead and get some touchdowns, it really felt it would be hard for another team to catch up. And we would’ve been in a good position if we could’ve converted some of those.”

He’s not wrong.

It could’ve been massive for momentum in horrible weather conditions.

“it was a tough game offensively,” added Dickenson. “But we had our chances, and we should’ve been at least able to pop a few in there (for touchdowns). The one to Clark in the endzone was a great read by Vernon, and (Barnes) was there. It just came out wrong (from Adams) on that, and then we just didn’t convert on (the Walker) third down.”

3. REDBLACKS RUN IT

Take away those turnovers and it’s really the run game that won the day.

And the Redblacks simply had more of it, rolling up 239 rushing yards to the 160 of the Stampeders.

That was the right call in the face of the gust-filled day.

Case in point, Redblacks QB Dustin Crum was just 9-of-22 for 111 passing yards, filling in for injured starter Dru Brown. But Crum ran for 64 yards on 11 carries, as part of a 239-yard run day for the visiting side. Running backs Daniel Adeboboye and William Stanback had 96 and 82 yards respectively on 19 total carries split between them as part of the healthy Redblacks rushing charge.

“They have a good running quarterback, and he’s strong,” said Dickenson, of Crum. “So they were running him early, and then they kind of got in the groove with their running backs later on.”

That ground game kept the Redblacks ever slightly in control of the pace in the face of it always being a one-score affair.

4. MORE INJURIES?

That’s not to say the defence didn’t do its job for the Stamps.

Despite being a new unit throughout, the ‘D’ was solid enough again to put the team in position for a victory. Giving up just one TD — that on a Crum-to-Adeboboye connection for an eight-yard score for insurance in the fourth quarter — should’ve been enough to pull out two points and continue the win string.

And the Red and White defence did get the team on the board first again with a safety by lineman Jaylon Hutchings.

But on the heels of both Reggie Begelton (leg) and Marquel Lee (bicep) being placed on the six-game injured list — and Begelton having undergone successful surgery Saturday — comes news of more injuries from the contest, especially on defence.

Linebacker Jed Roberts, who has been solid, is among them.

“I do feel like we’re a little bit beat-up,” lamented Dickenson. “We’re going to have to use our bye-week (this coming week) to get healthy and also look at some reinforcements to come in. I do think we have to look at linebackers the most — we’ve lost a lot of depth there.”

5. RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

Are we making too much of the monsoon at McMahon?

Maybe, and teams — including the Stamps on this occasion — don’t like to use it as an excuse when they lose.

But it was unfortunate to go ahead with a game in those conditions.

The weather did nothing for the CFL product, and it kept the fans away from the stadium, which only served to slow down the Stamps momentum with so many positive vibes — both on- and off-field — surrounding the franchise early on in 2025.

“It was a tough-weather game, for sure,” admitted Dickenson. “In the first half, it was so wet. We probably caught the ball better as far as we didn’t have as many drops as them. But we definitely had some throws that the wind caught and spun right into the ground. It was hard to throw outside the hashes, because the wind just really took it.”

Adams himself wasn’t about to blame the weather for his day — which was a hardy 17-of-32 for 218 yards — saying the wind made it tough just “a little bit” going one way.

But it definitely did take the zing out of the passing game, which is a CFL staple.

“The wind just really took the ball,” added Dickenson, himself — of course — a legendary QB in the league. “If you threw it straight down the middle, you were probably better off. But that was maybe not where the receivers were open.”

Not ideal conditions for football, by any means.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM