Blue Bombers look for payback in rematch with Stampeders, this time in Winnipeg
Two weeks ago, Calgary handed Winnipeg its first loss of the season, 37-16 in the inaugural Stampede Bowl. On Friday night, the Stampeders (4-1) face the Blue Bombers (3-1) at Princess Auto Stadium.
Calgary is coming off consecutive weeks of handing division rivals their first losses. Last week, the Stampeders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-10 in a game that was pushed back a day due to bad air quality in Regina.
It's been quite a start for Calgary, which posted a 5-12-1 record in 2024 to finish fifth in the West Division.
This season, the Stampeders have allowed just five touchdowns in 68 drives (7.4 per cent) and only four touchdowns in the opposition's 11 trips into the red zone.
Calgary is also tied for the league lead in takeaways (13) and 30-plus yard completions (11). The Stampeders are second only to B.C. (410) in net offence (409.6 yards per game) but boast the CFL's top-ranked ground game (130.6 yards).
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is second overall in passing (1,453 yards). He's tied with Toronto's Nick Arbuckle for most 30-plus yard completions (11) but is tops with a 10.5-yard average per pass attempt.
Adams has also rushed for 132 yards on 16 carries (8.3-yard average) and a touchdown. A win Friday night would give Calgary the season series versus Winnipeg.
The Bombers are especially tough at Princess Auto Stadium. Not only are they the league's lone unbeaten team at home (2-0), but they've won eight of their last nine overall there.
Calgary has also lost eight straight in Winnipeg, its last win there coming in 2017, although Adams Jr. is 5-3 over his career versus the Bombers and threw for 428 yards and three TDs in last week's win over Saskatchewan.
Rookie Damien Alford, who Calgary took first overall in the 2025 CFL draft, had six catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.
What's more, Winnipeg is 12-0 coming off a bye week since 2021, and Collaros sports a 10-7 record versus Calgary.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
8 minutes ago
- CBC
Young Vancouver soccer players recount impact of Bend it Like Beckham film after sequel announced
The director of Bend it Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha, says there might be a sequel to the inspirational soccer movie from 2002. CBC's Laurence Watt visited Vancouver Rise FC's turf to find out what the movie means to Vancouver's young soccer players and who can best bend it like Beckham.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Five takeaways: Redblacks take advantage of sloppy Calgary Stampeders in Ottawa
Article content Only this night, it went the way of the opposition. Article content For the first time on the 2025 Canadian Football League season, the Stampeders were dominated by a rival. Article content The host Ottawa Redblacks stuffed the run game, won the turnover battle — including a pick-six — and stayed more disciplined than the visitors in winning a 31-11 affair at TD Place. Article content Not enough offence. Article content Too many turnovers. Article content And far too many penalties. Article content 'We didn't make any plays,' Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson told CHQR. 'But actually, guys kept fighting. There was a lot of heart — you could see it. Article content 'There was just no plays being made. And the plays we normally do make, we didn't make. And then we started turning the ball over and taking too many penalties. Article content 'I'm not down on the group — they had fight. I'm just down on the performance.' Article content The loss dropped the Stamps to 5-3, as they dropped a second-straight game for the first time in 2025. Meanwhile, the Redblacks got a badly needed win to improve to 2-6 in the CFL standings. Article content Article content With Vernon Adams Jr. sidelined by a head injury, backup quarterback P.J. Walker was in the spotlight for the Stamps, making his first-ever CFL start. Article content Just as it did in last week's fourth-quarter oopsy, it didn't go well for the former NFL pivot. Article content Article content Walker's basic stats were solid. The 30-year-old QB was 20-of-37 for 273 passing yards and his first-ever CFL touchdown pass — to Dominique Rhymes over the middle covering 29 yards to get the Red and White back in the game in the fourth quarter. Article content But three interceptions proved to be Walker's — and the Stamps' — undoing. He underthrew his target on the first one, overthrew his intended receiver on the second one. And then game the dagger on an INT runback of 61 yards by A McGee in the fourth quarter that saw Walker turn a fire a hitch pass right into the arms of the Redblacks defender. Article content It was an easy pick-off. Too easy. Article content 'You can't win games having three turnovers,' Walker told reporters. 'We connected on a couple of plays, but the outcome could be a little different. Gotta be better the next time we get an opportunity to go out there and play. Article content 'I felt like, honestly, I got into my rhythm,' continued Walker. 'I felt good, and I was throwing it around the field. Sometimes you just don't make all the plays you need to, but it's part of the game.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sports scoreboard for Thursday, July 31, 2025
Thursday's Scoreboard MLB American League N.Y. Yankees 7 Tampa Bay 4 Seattle 6 Texas 0 National League Atlanta 12 Cincinnati 11 (10 innings) — CFL Ottawa 31 Calgary 11 — LEAGUES CUP Phase One Cincinnati 3 Monterrey 2 Juarez 4 Charlotte 1 New York Red Bulls 1 Chivas de Guadalajara 0 Colorado 2 Santos Laguna 1 Seattle 7 Cruz Azul 0 LA Galaxy 5 Tijuana 2 — WNBA Golden State 68 Washington 67 — Canadian Elite Basketball League Ottawa 96 Niagara 93 Scarborough 93 Calgary 89 —
