The Calgary Stampeders (2-1) returned from their bye week on Saturday night hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (0-4) from McMahan Stadium in a Western Division showdown.
The storylines coming into this game were Winnipeg’s 0-3 start to the season and Calgary looking to bounce back after their Week 2 loss in B.C. a couple of weeks ago. This game started slow and stayed that way for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the play picked up and it was not settled until overtime.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Winnipeg went on an eight-play drive for 35 yards, of which running back Brady Oliveira had three carries for 13 yards. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros took a shot deep into the endzone intended for Nic Demski but Calgary defensive back Kobe Williams broke it up.
Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter. Both offenses were committed to the running game in the first half. The defenses on both teams played well throughout the game not allowing the offenses to get going.
On the final play of the first quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw an incomplete pass on second down intended for Cam Echols. The Blue Bombers led the Stampeders 3-0.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 47-yard field goal and the game was tied 3-3 with 14:47 left. On the second play for Winnipeg, quarterback Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Drew Wolitarsky was intercepted by Clarence Hicks. He lost the ball but linebacker Cam Judge was there to recover it on the Blue Bombers’ 37-yard line.
Calgary’s offense could not take advantage of the turnover. On third down, quarterback Jake Maier tried to throw a touchdown pass to Reggie Begelton which was incomplete. The play would not have counted anyway as Begelton was penalized for offensive pass interference.
Later in the second quarter, Calgary punter Cody Grace punted the ball 58 yards into the endzone where Chris Smith conceded the single point. Calgary now led 4-3 with 9:17 left. Late in the second quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros took a shot to the stomach by Josiah Coatney and was down on the play with 3:59 left. Collaros came off the field to get checked out while kicker Sergio Castillo made a 37-yard field goal to take a 6-4 lead with 3:37 left.
Winnipeg’s defense stepped up on Calgary’s next drive. Quarterback Jake Maier went to throw the ball to Clint Barnes but Tyrell Ford did a good job reading the play and stepped in front of Barnes to make the interception. Backup quarterback Chris Streveler was in for two plays before Collaros returned to the field. Collaros threw a six-yard pass to Kevens Clercius which led to Sergio Castillo making a 36-yard field goal for a 9-4 lead with 1:38 left of the second quarter.
On the final play of the second quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 30-yard field goal and the score was now 9-7 Winnipeg at halftime. Neither team wanted to take command of this game and it was a disappointing first half.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 100 yards on offense (61 passing yards, 45 yards rushing, six yards lost). Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 8 of 12 passes (66%) for 55 yards, and one interception, while backup quarterback Chris Streveler completed one pass for six yards, and four carries for 18 yards.
Running back Brady Oliveira had eight carries for 23 yards and made two catches for 11 yards. Wide receiver Nic Demski made four catches for 26 yards, and Drew Wolitarsky made one catch for 13 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made two tackles for loss and one interception.
Calgary had 129 yards on offense (100 yards passing, 29 yards rushing). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 11 of 21 passes (52.3%) for 100 yards, and one interception. Running back Dedrick Mills had seven carries for 25 yards and made two catches for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Marken Michel made five catches for 47 yards, while Reggie Begelton made four catches for 36 yards. Calgary’s defense made one sack and one interception.
Third Quarter:
At the start of the third quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros did not return to the team. While he did come out well after the rest of the team was already out there, backup quarterback Chris Streveler played the rest of the game.
In the third quarter, Calgary went on a six-play drive for 45 yards including a 10-yard holding penalty against Winnipeg. The drive would end with kicker Rene Paredes making a 43-yard field goal to take a 10-9 lead with 10:27 left.
Later in the third quarter, Calgary punter Cody Grace punted the ball 79 yards into the endzone where Chris Smith conceded the single point. It was now 11-9 Calgary with 7:07 left.
Winnipeg’s offense went two-and-out on their drive. They needed to find a spark. Winnipeg faked a punt in which punter Jamieson Sheahan ran for 18 yards before going out of bounds on the Stampeders’ 49-yard line. Despite the fake punt, Winnipeg ended up punting the ball.
On the final play for the third quarter, Calgary running back Dedrick Mills rushed for a gain of three yards before getting tackled on the Blue Bombers’ 44-yard line. Calgary led 11-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Marken Michel for an 18-9 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.
Later in the fourth quarter, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo made a 60-yard field goal and the score was now 18-12 with 9:24 left in the game. The field goal was a new Winnipeg franchise record. The previous record was 58 yards by both Bernie Ruoff and Justin Medlock.
Calgary’s offense was able to move the ball to the Blue Bombers’ 42-yard line before punter Cody Grace punted the ball 61 yards into the endzone where Chris Smith conceded the single point for a 19-12 lead with 5:04 left in the game.
When Winnipeg’s offense went back out on the field, quarterback Chris Streveler led his team down to the Stampeders’ 35-yard line. Facing third down, Winnipeg went for it when Chris Streveler completed a pass to Brady Oliveira for eight yards but he was short of the first down.
Calgary’s offense went back out onto the field with 2:46 left. All they had to do was chew up the clock and get first downs to end the game. However, Winnipeg’s defense made a key stop forcing the Stampeders to punt the ball.
Winnipeg had one more chance to get back into the game. Calgary’s defense was playing conservatively instead of blitzing to try and end the game. However, on the eighth play, Winnipeg quarterback Chris Streveler threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Drew Wolitarsky, and the game was tied 19-19 with 37 seconds left. The game went to overtime.
Overtime:
In overtime, Winnipeg quarterback Chris Streveler’s pass intended for Nic Demski was intercepted by former Blue Bomber Demerio Houston. Three plays later, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes kicked the game-winning 52-yard field goal for a 22-19 win. The win ended the Stampeders’ six-game losing streak to Winnipeg.
Final Stats:
Calgary had 307 yards on offense (239 yards passing, 69 yards rushing, one yard lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 28 of 43 passes (65.1%) for 239 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Dedrick Mills had 16 carries for 51 yards and made two catches for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Marken Michel made 9 catches for 75 yards, and one touchdown, while Reggie Begelton made seven catches for 50 yards. Kicker Rene Paredes made four field goals with a long of 52 yards. Calgary’s defense made 42 tackles, five tackles on special teams, one sack, and two interceptions. Calgary was penalized three times for 40 yards.
Winnipeg had 297 yards on offense (225 yards passing, 78 yards rushing, six yards lost). Quarterback Chris Streveler completed 14 of 24 passes (58.3%) for 170 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and six carries for 27 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had 10 carries for 26 yards and made five catches for 37 yards while Johnny Augustine had one carry for four yards.
Wide receiver Nic Demski made six catches for 54 yards, and Drew Wolitarsky made four catches for 43 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Sergio Castillo made four field goals with a long of 60 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, seven tackles for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble. Winnipeg was penalized 8 times for 60 yards
Final Thoughts:
For the last three weeks, I have said that it was not time to start panicking about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Now, we are reaching the stage where it’s time to start worrying about this franchise. This is their first 0-4 start since the 2012 season.
After the game, you could visibly see how frustrated the Winnipeg players were. This team is in a state of instability. The offensive line can’t protect the quarterback, who is now hurt. They can’t open up a lane for the running backs to pick up yards. The wide receivers can’t catch a ball. The defense gives up big plays and can’t stop no one. Whatever they are doing in practice is not working and it needs to change right now.
Maybe this is a sign that Winnipeg should start the rebuilding process early. The players are not getting younger and they have players who are tradeable that other teams would be interested in. The one thing that has hurt teams with success is holding onto guys for too long and not trading them at the right time to get great value in return. If they don’t start the process now, it’s going to be a rough future for Winnipeg.
For Calgary, despite the win, this is something to not celebrate. This team had plenty of chances to put Winnipeg away in the fourth quarter and they could not do that. I think if Matthew Shiltz was the quarterback, the offense would’ve improved and maybe scored more than one touchdown. Calgary has a lot of work ahead of them and I don’t trust this team right now. Until they can beat the better teams, Calgary is just an average team.
Next Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Ottawa Redblacks at 8:30 pm on TSN and CFL Plus, while the Calgary Stampeders visit the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
