CALGARY – The red-hot BC Lions take their show on the road to Calgary for a Sunday night clash with the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium.
BC possesses one of the most lethal offences in the CFL, which was on display once again in its 35-20 win over Saskatchewan last week. Calgary comes into the Week 7 finale aiming to get back to its winning ways after falling to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Lions hold the season series advantage after taking down the Stampeders 26-17 back in Week 2.
It’s hard to argue there’s been a more impressive player than Vernon Adams Jr. so far in 2024. Adams Jr. leads the league in passing yards with 2,203 and touchdowns with 12. Back in his team’s first matchup with Calgary, he threw for a pair of touchdowns on 17 completions.
Most of the targets on Sunday are likely heading to Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins. The duo top the leaderboard in receiving yards with 725 and 656, apiece. McInnis is also the leader in receptions with 45 and targets with 61, while being tied for the league lead in touchdowns with five.
Simply put, when the ball goes the way of McInnis, he expects to make the play.
“We say a lot of things in the locker room. By any means is kind of one of the things that we say,” McInnis told reporters.
“By any means necessary, when the ball’s thrown, I have to go make a play.”
So with who to focus on established, it’s up something of a hobbled backfield to try to shut them down. Demerio Houston, Kobe Williams and Tyler Richardson are all game time decisions, which could add to the weight on Tre Roberson, Nick Statz, Malcolm Thompson, Bentlee Sanders and Rodney Randle Jr. to go up against a prolific offence.
When Lions head coach Rick Campbell wants to change up the looks, he can go to the league’s third-best rusher in William Stanback. The Stamps front was able to limit Stanback to 69 yards in their first meeting.
The responsibility of shutting him down falls on Mike Rose, James Vaughters, Clarence Hicks and Josiah Coatney on the defensive line. That group will miss Julian Howsare, as he’s been moved to the one-game injured list. Another d-lineman to keep an eye on is Kelon Thomas, who is also a game-time decision. The unit is allowing an even 106 yards against per game.
Linebackers Micah Awe and Cameron Judge should also factor heavily into the success of limiting the pass and run games. Awe boasts 26 defensive tackles and Judge has 25.
While keeping pace with Adams Jr. offensively is a tall order, Stamps quarterback Jake Maier comes in with plenty of confidence after a 316-yard game with two touchdowns against the Bombers. Much of his success has been due to his ability to share the football among several receivers. As a team, they’re averaging 255.2 passing yards.
Marken Michel has caught 26 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns and should see his share of action against the Lions.
To Maier’s right, he’ll go to Clark Barnes and Reggie Begelton against a BC secondary in the middle of the pack when it comes to stopping the pass game.
While it’s fully been the Maier show in Calgary this year, there is a change to his supporting cast. An ankle injury has sent backup Matthew Shiltz to the six-game injured list, with Logan Bonner coming onto the depth chart off of the practice roster.
Defensive backs Garry Peters and Ciante Evans will flank the secondary with Adrian Greene covering the middle of the field, with the team welcoming halfback T.J. Lee back into the lineup as they try to slow Maier and his group of receivers. But if they can, the job is far from done, as running back Dedrick Mills is set to see a lot of handoffs after rushing for 131 yards against Winnipeg.
Given the Lions are holding rushers to 83.7 yards per game, the battle at the line of scrimmage should be an entertaining one.
If Mills makes his way through defensive linemen Joshua Archibald, Marcus Moore and Pete Robertson, he’ll be met by Ben Hladik and Bo Lokombo looking to make a difference at linebacker.
With his team going through a stretch of important West Division games, Campbell wants his players to stay in the present.
“Winning in the West is tough so any wins we get in this division are huge,” Campbell told reporters.
“I think what we’re doing a good job of right now is trying to do just one thing at a time and not looking way down the road. What it comes down to is energy, which teams have the juice, have the energy, are as healthy as possible, I think that’s what it’s coming down to in this league. It’s a long grind.”
The Lions can make it six straight wins with a victory.
Calgary can close the gap to two points between themselves and the Lions if they can come out on top.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. Fans in Canada can watch on TSN, with American viewers able to catch the game on CBS Sports Network. International viewers can tune in on CFL+.
