VANCOUVER — It was anything but pretty.
It was downright ugly, if we’re being honest here.
But the Calgary Stampeders (12-6) weren’t looking for style points on Saturday night against the B.C. Lions (5-13).
Winning was the only thing that mattered if they wanted to avoid going on the road for next week’s West semifinal (Nov. 10, 2:30 p.m.).
And look, the Stamps did what they needed to do. They survived a surprisingly low-energy game and emerged with a 21-16 win. The defence, in particular, has a lot to be happy about — they forced three turnovers — and the special teams unit was better than it has been recently.
Whatever else happened, here’s the most relevant fact: The Stampeders are officially ending the regular season in second place in the West Division and are hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers next weekend. That’s better than the alternative, which was losing on Saturday and having to travel to the Manitoba capital.
From almost the opening kickoff, this was a game where it never really felt as if the Lions were going to be much of a threat.
The Stampeders, though, just couldn’t quite capitalize and put their opponents down.
They came close a couple times but actually getting in the endzone and scoring a touchdown remained oddly elusive.
Twice in the first half, Bo Levi Mitchell — who completed 20-of-38 passes for 283 yards while throwing one touchdown and one interception — looked to receiver Reggie Begelton in the endzone. Their connection has been oh-so-reliable all year, but both times the ball ended up bouncing along the turf instead of in Begelton’s hands.
Fortunately, though, the Lions seemed entirely incapable of putting up any offence of their own, so the fact the Stampeders were settling for field goals instead of touchdowns didn’t feel like it was going to be a particularly fatal flaw at the time.
And to be completely honest, there was never a single moment in the entire first half when it felt like the Stampeders were not in total control.
Rene Paredes was putting up the points with his four field goals, but the defence was doing such a good job shutting down the Lions, it felt as if this was probably going to be more than enough.
At halftime, the Stamps were up 14-3 and the Lions had put up a grand total of 62 yards.
Mitchell had thrown for 186 yards in the first half, and the run game was showing signs of life with Don Jackson back in as the starter.
Considering the Stamps’ defensive backfield was missing starters Royce Metchie, DaShaun Amos and Tre Roberson, you certainly couldn’t complain about them, either.
But the second half had a very different complexion and it became hard not to wonder whether the Stampeders were going to not regret putting the Lions away before halftime.
Mitchell continued to look for the longball, but it just wasn’t working.
Maybe the Stamps were hoping to put the game to bed and start focusing on the playoff games ahead by finishing things with one big bomb, but something was off.
It didn’t feel like the Lions were going to suddenly turn into world-beaters and go on an uncontested run, but there were a few anxious moments, to be sure, especially after they replaced Danny O’Brien with Brandon Bridge at quarterback.
On Bridge’s first drive, he moved the Lions downfield and after an extremely questionable pass interference penalty was called on the Stampeders’ Lorenzo Jerome, the Lions scored the first touchdown of the night when O’Brien plunged the ball in from the one-yard line.
Suddenly, it was 14-10, and the Stampeders were still struggling to move the ball.
The Lions aren’t a dangerous enough team for it to have felt as if the tides had turned, but the scoreline was considerably too close for comfort for a game that the Stampeders absolutely had to win.
The Lions, though, did just about everything in their power to make sure the Stampeders got the opportunities they’d need to win.
John White fumbled the ball late in the third quarter — although Stamps d-lineman Vincent Desjardins deserves a tonne of credit for his play on the ball — and Bridge threw an interception on the Lions’ next drive that was brought down by Jerome.
Finally, late in the fourth, the Stamps took advantage, when Mitchell spread the ball out on a long drive and eventually connected with the ever-ascendent Hergy Mayala for a nine-yard TD.
With the Stamps up 21-10, it certainly felt like it was game over, but Bridge made sure that feeling was short-lived.
As soon as the Lions got the ball back, they began confidently picking their spots and moving the ball downfield. By the time he connected with Bryan Burnham in the endzone to make it 21-16, it never felt in doubt that the Lions would end their drive in the endzone.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
The Lions did get one more chance to steal the game and make life harder for the Stamps in the playoffs, but that ended when Bridge threw a pass at midfield that was intercepted by Dexter McCoil.
Game. Set. Match.
The Stampeders aren’t going to be thrilled with their performance, but this really was a game where securing the victory was the only thing that truly mattered.
They managed that, and now they’ll host the Bombers in next week’s West Division semifinal at McMahon Stadium.
The Stampeders are going to need to be a lot better in that game than they were on Saturday night if they’re going to advance, though.
daustin@postmedia.com
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November 03, 2019 at 12:13PM
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