Photo courtesy: Leah Hennel/CFL.ca
It was a beautiful night at McMahon Stadium as the Calgary Stampeders hosted the B.C. Lions on Friday.
It was Indigenous Night and the Stampeders honoured the local Treaty No. 7 nations. The national anthem was performed in the Blackfoot language as part of the celebration.
Almost immediately afterward, the home team’s night soured as the visiting Lions feasted on the Stampeders, winning 52-23.
Here is what I saw from my vantage point.
With a little help from my friends
After the game, TSN analyst Farhan Lalji took to X to share his thoughts about the contest:
That bird looks amazing!
Thought 1: “While the best team in the CFL suffered a close loss that came out of nowhere, due in large part to poor officiating, what remains clear is that no one tailgates like the best fans in the league!” 😋🤤
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) September 20, 2025
At least, that’s what I hoped it was. Instead, it turns out he was just doing an impression of my occasionally rose-coloured analysis when looking at the hometown club’s successes and failures, while also complimenting my cooking skills.
While this was a friendly joke between the two of us, Lalji did mention the officiating, and it is worth some discussion.
Far be it from me to think I would be capable of officiating football in real time. Focusing on your assigned area while watching the play develop in a rough sport where bodies are constantly crossing your field of vision at incredible speeds is one of the toughest jobs in professional sports.
That said, Friday’s game featured a frustrating number of conferences to discuss penalties, which slowed the game to a halt and dragged out a late kickoff into the wee hours of the evening.
There were also some maddening instances that had fans, players and coaches alike throwing their hands in the air in exasperation.
The first came on a B.C. punt return, where Seven McGee clearly took three steps on the white of the sideline before cutting back upfield and running for another 20 yards, where the ball was spotted. It took a challenge flag from Stampeders head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson to get the spot right, which was corrected after the review.
Later, it was a Nathan Rourke pass attempt that, on replay, appeared to hit the ground before being advanced for a first down. The Lions alertly got to the line and snapped the ball prior to a replay being available in the stadium, so a challenge flag couldn’t be thrown to reverse the error in time.
Finally, on the play where Vernon Adams Jr. was injured, it appeared clear that the quarterback was giving himself up after a scramble play, only to be hit in the head on the way down to the turf. This play reminded me of several roughing the passer calls elsewhere this season, but no flag was thrown or yards assessed in the aftermath of the play.
None of these calls would have changed the outcome of a game with a 29-point differential finish, but they compounded to provide frustration. The game featured 20 penalties for a total of 253 yards on just 93 total offensive plays.
Adams pulled by spotters
Vernon Adams Jr.’s injury woes continued on Friday. As mentioned above, he suffered a blow to the head and was pulled from the game by the league’s injury spotters.
On the first drive after halftime, Adams’ helmet was struck by the defender’s forearm, and the Stampeders quarterback was slow to get up. Having already suffered a concussion earlier this year, Adams was removed from the game and didn’t return.
“I don’t think Vernon’s too bad,” head coach Dave Dickenson said after the game. “I thought it was more of a rib (injury). I thought he was going to fight through it and play, but the command centre decided that was enough and we weren’t able to get him back in there.”
Prior to getting injured, Adams had thrown two interceptions as part of an 11-of-16 performance for 125 yards. Another of Adams’ throws was caught by a B.C. defender in the endzone, but was ruled null and void because the ball had just bare kissed the goalpost on its flight path. Garry Peters also dropped a surefire pick-six just before halftime that left his teammates falling to the ground in disbelief, though he is not likely to lose sleep after his team won in dominating fashion.
As of this writing, Adams’ injury status is still unclear.
Walker goes down, too
P.J. Walker had a good run going, including a touchdown pass as part of an eight-of-nine day. He also finished off the drive where Adams got hurt by setting up a one-yard TD plunge from Quincy Vaughn.
Walker came into the game with almost a full half to play, but with a little over five minutes left on the clock, he was injured as well. He has already been ruled out for the rest of the season with what the team is calling a “serious arm injury.”
With Adams already injured and Walker gone, the team had to turn to short-yardage QB Quincy Vaughn under centre for the game’s dying moments. However, it is likely that practice roster resident Josh Love will be elevated next week, either as backup or as a starter if Adams is unable to play next week.
At least the punts were good?
Mark Vassett pounded the leather off the ball and has cemented himself as the team’s number one punter after spending a portion of the season battling for the job left vacant by the offseason departure of Cody Grace to Edmonton.
Vassett averaged 52.5 net punt yards and 57.5 gross on four punts, including a filthy low kick that flew out at the Lions’ six-yard line.
The player drafted 10th overall in the Global draft in 2025 was one of two punters drafted for the job and has carried a 52.5-yard average through eight games, which is better than any team collectively to this point in the season.
The ability to flip the field is essential as the season approaches its conclusion, and Vassett is providing that for the Stamps.
Tackling lacking
Nathan Rourke and the Lions continued their offensive hot streak in this game, torching the Stampeders, whose rock-solid defence suddenly forgot how to tackle.
The lack of execution may have been two-fold, according to Dickenson.
“With poor tackling, that’s just effort. You have to put your face on him,” he said.
In addition, the coaching staff may have gotten too ahead of themselves, knowing their opponent’s skill level and changed things up during the bye week.
“We had some different calls, and we tried some different things. Maybe the guys weren’t comfortable with it, because we didn’t execute at all.”
Help from my friends 2: Electric Boogaloo
Credit to Stampeders play-by-play man Mark Stephen, who went digging through the history books after the game ended.
The 52 points against were the most allowed by Calgary since a Touchdown Atlantic game in 2011, when they allowed 55 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It was also the Stampeders’ most points allowed at home since 1989 and the team’s largest margin of defeat since Labour Day in 1990, when they lost to Edmonton 38-4.
The rosiest of rose-coloured outlooks.
With eight wins already under their belts and losses already suffered by Ottawa and Toronto this weekend, the Stampeders need one more win and one more Toronto loss the rest of the way to guarantee themselves at least a crossover playoff spot.
From a West Division perspective, Edmonton already has nine losses on the year. If they suffer a tenth on Saturday, any combination of an Elks loss and a Calgary win will also book the Stampeders’ ticket to the postseason.
This flexibility, with five games remaining, should allow them the luxury of finding a suitable replacement for the injured Folarin Orimolade, monitoring Vernon Adams’ health, and potentially seeing the return of both Malik Henry and Marquel Lee — both of whom received a positive report in practice this week.
Despite this two-game slide in the standings, the ultimate goal of a championship remains within reach.
Next up
The Stampeders will return to practice on Monday with an eye on their next opponent, the Montreal Alouettes.
All eyes on both sides will be on Vernon Adams and his status heading into an environment that has been less than friendly over the years to the boys from Cowtown.