Three weeks ago, the Calgary Stampeders were searching for a spark.
Now they are carrying a flamethrower into the final two weeks of the Canadian Football League season.
The Stampeders marched into Mosaic Stadium and defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 37-31 on Friday, extending their winning streak to three games and moving back to .500 at 8-8.\
More importantly, Calgary changed the shape of the West Division playoff race.
Saskatchewan entered the night with an opportunity to clinch a postseason berth. Instead, the Stampeders won the season series and secured the tiebreaker over the Roughriders, who dropped to 8-7 with their third consecutive loss.
That is one way to ruin a party in Regina.
Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 22 of 29 passes for 242 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his seventh game this season with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions, and it pushed him past 150 career touchdown throws.
Clark Barnes, Damien Alford, Tevin Jones and Jalen Philpot each caught touchdown passes as Adams spread the ball around. When Saskatchewan tried to take away one option, he simply found another.
The Stampeders led 34-13 before the Roughriders scored three touchdowns in the final three minutes, making the result appear considerably closer than the game had felt.
It was not the cleanest landing, but Calgary walked away with two points, a tiebreaker and control of its playoff path.
Head coach Dave Dickenson was not thrilled by the late wobble, although he was willing to let his players enjoy the larger accomplishment.
“I didn’t like how we finished,” Dickenson said to Stamps TV. “Obviously, that does taint it a bit for me, but I’m not going to let it. I’m going to let the guys celebrate because that’s a huge win on the road against a great team.”
Calgary’s winning streak has featured a little of everything.
First came Rene Paredes’ franchise-record 62-yard field goal to beat the Ottawa Redblacks 40-38 at McMahon Stadium. The Stampeders then travelled east and completed the sweep with a more convincing 45-31 victory at TD Place.
Friday’s win was the most meaningful of the three because of the opponent, venue and playoff implications.
Calgary has scored 122 points during the streak, an average of more than 40 per game. The offence is attacking vertically, Adams is protecting the football and the Stampeders suddenly look much more like a team nobody wants to face in November.
“We control our own destiny if we take care of what we need to take care of,” Philpot said to Stamps TV. “Sky’s the limit, and everything that we said early on in the year is attainable.”
Those words carried extra weight after Friday.
Calgary currently occupies the crossover position, which would send it into the East Division playoffs. The Stampeders sit behind first-place Edmonton, B.C. and Saskatchewan in the West but ahead of Winnipeg, which fell to 7-8 after a 37-10 loss in Montreal.
The crossover provides Calgary with one possible road into the postseason. The Stampeders, however, can still climb into a traditional West Division berth.
Their remaining schedule could hardly be more direct.
Calgary visits Winnipeg on Saturday before returning home to face B.C. on Oct. 17. Those are not simply two games against nearby teams in the standings. They are opportunities to settle season-series tiebreakers against the clubs competing with Calgary for playoff position.
Win both, and the Stampeders finish 10-8 with five consecutive victories. That would give Calgary an excellent chance to stay in the West bracket and possibly improve its seeding, depending on Saskatchewan’s results.
Lose and the playoff calculator comes back out.
The Stampeders are not flawless. Saskatchewan’s late surge reinforced that, and Calgary’s 8-8 record accurately reflects a season that has included explosive victories, frustrating defeats and occasionally both versions of the team in the same evening.
But playoff football is often less about who looked strongest in July than who arrives hottest in October.
Right now, Calgary is that team.
Adams is throwing touchdowns without giving the ball away. Paredes is healthy and capable of scoring from the next postal code. The receivers are producing, the defence is creating timely turnovers and the Stampeders have won three consecutive games with their season under maximum pressure.
A playoff berth has not been clinched, and there is still work waiting in Winnipeg.
For the first time in months, though, Calgary is no longer hoping the race breaks its way.
The Stampeders are running straight through it.
