The Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks will clash on Saturday in a game between two teams in desperate need of a win.
The Stampeders (5-8) are currently on the outside of the CFL playoff picture and face a must-win scenario against the winless Redblacks (0-12) as they try to keep pace with the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division.
Calgary has lost two in a row, including a 53-16 pounding at the hands of the Edmonton Elks in Week 15. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was benched in the blowout loss after completing 10-of-19 passes for 142 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“We just got beat,” said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. “They outplayed us, were the better team, had a better plan, everything. They took it to us, and we have to be honest about that and move forward.”
It was the Stamps’ second-straight loss to their Alberta rivals, after dropping their Week 14 game 38-28 at home. The pair of losses dropped them four points behind the Lions (7-6) and Bombers (7-6) in the West playoff race. The Stampeders have lost four of their past five games overall.
“We’re in a lull right now,” said Calgary linebacker Marquel Lee. “We’ve got to look in the mirror this week and fix the mistakes and come back better and execute a whole better.”
They will try to bounce back against Ottawa’s league-worst defence, which sits last in points allowed per game, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and second-down conversion percentage against.
The Redblacks continue to search for their first win of the 2026 season and may turn to veteran quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson in Week 16.
The 38-year-old signal-caller took first-team reps in the team’s practice on Tuesday, after starter Jake Maier was benched in Saturday’s 26-23 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. Bethel-Thompson threw for 192 yards and a touchdown in relief as Ottawa lost on a walk-off field goal.
“This game can be very cruel sometimes, it was a very cruel ending to what could’ve been something very promising,” said Bethel-Thompson after the loss. “Just disappointed I played my role in the trials and tribulations of this tough season.”
Maier has 3,139 yards, 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 12 games this season, his first in Ottawa after being brought over from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Redblacks have lost 18 consecutive games dating back to last season, but have some positives to build off heading into the road matchup at McMahon Stadium, as Saturday’s three-point loss was their best performance since a two-point loss to the Blue Bombers on July 19. Their average margin of defeat in the five games between the two narrow losses was 21.2.
“There are no moral victories when your backs are against the wall like this,” Bethel-Thompson said. “If you don’t get that zero, that goose egg off the board, it means nothing.”
The Redblacks currently hold the second-longest losing streak in CFL history, trailing only the Ottawa Senators/Rough Riders mark of 25 games from 1928-32.
“[A win] would mean everything, man,” Bethel Thompson said. “Just to get the weight off our shoulders, just to stop (people) talking about us; everyone is adding more weight to it.
“Just get the goose egg off our shoulders and not be some stupid mark on the long history of this. We just have to block out the outside noise and continue to go to work and chop wood.”
The Redblacks have six more games this season to earn their first win.
