VANCOUVER — After a thrilling Week 15 matchup that saw the BC Lions defeat the Calgary Stampeders 31-29 in overtime, the two teams are set to do it all again on Saturday night from BC Place.
With last week’s win, the Lions managed to retain sole possession over second place in the West Division standings. Approaching Week 16, BC has an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot.
Should they be able to claw their way to a third win over Calgary this season, the Leos would secure themselves a playoff berth, marking the first time since 2018 that Lions would earn a playoff appearance.
However, the path to the playoffs won’t be an easy one as the Stamps and Lions get set to clash in their third and final meeting of the season. The previous two meetings have been decided by less than a field goal, with BC escaping with a 41-40 victory in Week 10, before their two-point victory in Week 15.
In his first start under centre for the Lions, Vernon Adams Jr. wasted no time making an impact, throwing for 294 yards on 25 completions. He also carried the ball three times for 32 yards as the Lions amassed 417 total yards of offence in the victory.
Adams Jr. will again be looking for top targets Bryan Burnham, Dominique Rhymes, Keon Hatcher and Lucky Whitehead to help move the ball downfield.
With his 91 yards in the game, Rhymes surpassed the 1,000 receiving yard total and currently sits second in the league with 1,016. While it’s a proud accomplishment, Rhymes said the only thing on his mind is winning as he team approaches the final stretch of the season.
“Throughout the game, I’m trying to win and help in any way I can for my team,” Rhymes told BCLions.com. “That’s all I think about. Being in a position we are in as a team and winning is helping us all feel better. I try to go out in the game and give it everything I’ve got.”
BC running back James Butler put together one of his best statistical performances of the season as he carried the ball 13 times in the game for 83 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. The performance from the Lions back puts him over 500 yards rushing for the year, and Butler should have an opportunity to build momentum against Calgary in the new week.
Ten points in the fourth quarter allowed Calgary to tie the game and send it to overtime last week. The Lions defence will hope to do a better job of getting to Stampeders quarterback Jake Maier and his receivers. While they were able to apply some pressure, they failed to record a sack or an interception, somewhat of a surprise considering they are third in the league with 35 sacks and have forced 31 turnovers.
Seven different defensive players have recorded two or more sacks, led by defensive lineman Mathieu Betts and Sione Teuhema who each have seven sacks. However, Betts will be relied upon to create most of disruption as Teuhema has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest.
Despite the loss to BC, Maier has shown a substantial amount of promise since taking over as the Calgary’s quarterback. Maier threw for 301 yards and found the end zone three times in the loss to BC. The second-year pivot has thrown for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns, starting just five games this season.
Even more impressive is the fact he’s thrown just two interceptions. Taking care of the football has been an important theme in Calgary this year as they’ve thrown a league low eight interceptions.
The connection between receiver Malik Henry and his quarterback have become evident over Maier’s five starts. Henry reeled in 107 yards and a touchdown in Week 15 and is now just 91 yards away from reaching 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
Defensively the Stamps will need to prioritize defending the BC air attack. Calgary has intercepted 16 passes this season, the second most in the league and will be reliant upon defensive playmakers Jonathan Moxey, Trumaine Washington, Elie Bouka and Brad Muhammad to contain the Lions group of receivers.
The Stamps took 12 penalties that cost them 128 yards in their loss. Head coach Dave Dickenson said it was an area of the game that hurt them, and knowing how to finish games is important.
“I saw some penalties where we lost our cool,” Dickenson told Stampeders.com. “The guys need to understand the standard and they have to play to it. We need to learn how to put the dagger in.”
