The Calgary Stampeders walked into a loud building in Winnipeg on a two-game losing streak and walked out with one of the most complete performances of their season. A win over the Blue Bombers, a piece of CFL history from Tyreik McAllister, and a quarterback tying his own head coach’s record — Friday night in Winnipeg had it all for Calgary.

The Stampeders never trailed. They got touchdowns from all three phases. And they got three interceptions from a guy making his first career start at the position. This wasn’t a lucky bounce or a last-second field goal. This was Calgary playing complete football for the first time in a while, and everybody in that locker room knew it.

Labrosse Ties a Team Record in His First Start

Benjamin Labrosse picked off Winnipeg quarterback three times, tying the Stampeders team record, and he did it in his first career start. One of those picks came in the fourth quarter and completely flipped the momentum of the game.

“I feel like I played good. I feel like the whole team played good. I feel like the whole defense played good. We’re just all on the same page, and that’s what it takes,” Labrosse said.

He wasn’t satisfied with three, either. “I feel like I should have got 4,” he said, before laughing it off. “It’s okay. I’ll take the tie. Maybe another game.”

That fourth-quarter interception mattered more than the stat sheet shows. “I think we’re just all on the same page. I think the whole defense was on the same page. I think their offense felt that and they just couldn’t really do much about it,” Labrosse said.

Head coach Dave Dickenson gave Labrosse a ton of credit, even pointing out he got away with a mistake earlier in the game without letting it rattle him. “He had a great game. I think he had 3 picks. You know, he got a little bit, I guess, loose with the ball on the one, but we didn’t panic, you know, and nobody like beat him up over it because they scored on that drive. He just kept playing,” Dickenson said. He added that the secondary as a whole answered a lot of outside criticism. “I thought our back end rose to the challenge after really getting beat up for— in the media, and also just the start of the season.”

McAllister Does Something Nobody in CFL History Has Done

If Labrosse was the story on defense, Tyreik McAllister was the story, period. He scored three touchdowns in three different ways — one rushing, one receiving, and one on a return — the first time it’s ever been done in league history.

“Super good. I love it,” McAllister said of getting the win in front of the Winnipeg crowd. “We came off a 2-game losing streak and we was right there in those games and we felt like, you know, one play could have changed both of those games. So we really needed this.”

Asked what the record-setting night meant to him, McAllister kept it simple. “I’m thankful, I thank God, thank my coaches, thank my teammates for putting me in a position to do what I do. I’m just grateful,” he said.

On the return touchdown specifically, McAllister broke down what he saw develop in front of him. “Kind of similar to the one I had against Saskatchewan. I played it one way and I seen everybody kind of flowing, so I just couldn’t cut it through. And once I got through that first wave, I seen nothing but green grass.”

Vernon Adams Jr. couldn’t stop talking about his teammate after the game. “That’s amazing, man. So happy for him. So happy Dave called me to call him on the offseason to help recruit him and get him here,” Adams said. He even joked about wanting to get McAllister a passing touchdown to complete the full set. “We were actually joking on the sideline like, hey, let’s do a toss to Tyreek, let him throw it for a touchdown, you know. Just a hell of a player, man, and a better dude.”

Dickenson revealed the plan going forward isn’t to force McAllister into home-run mode every time he touches the ball. “We want to get more touches and just standard looks. Doesn’t have to go to the house every time,” Dickenson said. “Busted coverage on the one, they cut him loose down the guts. Great job Vernon finding him. And then I thought our O-line did a nice job of really creasing them and we were able to get in the end zone.”

Adams Jr. Ties His Own Coach’s Record

Vernon Adams Jr. threw touchdowns and zero interceptions, moving him into a tie with Dickenson himself for the CFL record for most touchdown passes to start a season without an interception — a record Dickenson set at 20.

“He just, uh, said something about that in the meeting or in the room just now. So I didn’t know what he was talking about, but you know, it is what it is. It’s an awesome feeling,” Adams said. “We just want to get some wins. That’s it, man. I just want to win some football games.”

Adams pointed to the balance across all three phases as the difference-maker. “We played 3-phase football tonight, got a score on special teams, score on offense, and a few interceptions. It just felt good to play a complete game like that,” he said. He credited the offense’s simple in-game targets for the fast start. “Our goals as an offense was score 7+ points in each quarter, and I believe we did that. Got a lot of help from Ben LaBrosse and the defense and stuff, and Tyreek as well.”

Adams also pushed back on any notion that Calgary’s record tells the real story of this team. “We haven’t lost a game more than, I think, 7 or 8 points. So we have a good team and we know that.”

Finishing the Job

Dickenson’s biggest point after the game wasn’t about the record or the highlight-reel touchdowns — it was about his team finally closing one out. Calgary never trailed, took Winnipeg’s best punches late, and still found a way to finish.

“You gotta, when you get leads and you got a chance to finish it, you need to do it or else you lose your confidence. And we hadn’t had a lot of leads, so we’ve been just the team that’s battled back,” Dickenson said. “Winnipeg did that and then made it close. And I thought our defense gave us short fields, and we didn’t do a great job finishing as an offense, but we did enough. And yeah, I mean, it’s a nice win.”

Dickenson also singled out the play of his defensive backs beyond Labrosse. “We saw lots of good things from Wilson tonight… he’s a tough hitter. He does all the gritty little work, but he also was really good in pass coverage. I thought overall both him and Markell, solid games. And we sprinkle Moton in there as well. Good tackler with speed.”

With Calgary now on the road for the start of a three-game trip, McAllister made clear this win needs to be the start of something, not a one-off. “Extremely important for us to get this win. Hopefully the momentum can carry on and we get the rest of these wins,” he said. Labrosse echoed the same message from the defensive side: “We just gotta focus on the next game. We just gotta keep taking it game by game and just focus on our road trip.” Winnipeg beat Calgary in Week 1, and Dickenson already has an eye on the rubber match. “They beat us in week 1. We’ll play them again. Certainly that last game when it’s a 3-game series will be super important. Hopefully we play well.” For a Stampeders team that’s shown flashes of this ceiling all season, Friday night in Winnipeg might be the game that gets the record to finally catch up with the talent.

Watch the Full Videos

Calgary Stampeders: Benjamin Labrosse | Post-Game | 24.07.26

Calgary Stampeders: Tyreik McAllister | Post-Game | 24.07.26

Calgary Stampeders: Vernon Adams Jr. | Post-Game | 24.07.26

Calgary Stampeders: General Manager & Head Coach Dave Dickenson | Post-Game | 24.07.26