Calgary Stampeders clinch final playoff berth with Riders’ loss

Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/BC Lions

The Calgary Stampeders are playoff-bound for an 18th straight season, continuing the longest active streak in the CFL.

Unlike past seasons, the Stamps needed a little help to punch their ticket to the postseason, requiring a loss from the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday to stumble in with a 6-11 record. The Riders were happy to oblige, falling 29-26 to the first-place Toronto Argonauts.

It marks the second season in a row where Saskatchewan has missed the playoffs, both of which have ended with a string of seven consecutive losses.

Calgary got their own work done over the last two weeks, defeating the Riders 26-19 in Week 19 to claim the season series and the all-important tiebreaker that came with it. The Stampeders then walked into BC Place on Friday night and delivered a stunning blowout against the 12-6 Lions, racking up 213 combined rushing yards in a 41-16 win.

The Stampeders last missed the postseason in 2004, their lone season under Hall of Fame quarterback and current TSN panellist Matt Dunigan. Head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson has never failed to qualify for the playoffs during his tenure with the organization, either as a player, assistant coach, or bench boss. President John Hufnagel has fallen short of that mark just twice in Calgary — both times as a quarterback in 1976 and 1977.

Calgary will wrap up their regular season on Friday, October 27 against the top-seeded Winnipeg Blue Bombers and could become the worst team to qualify for the postseason since 1999 if they fall to 6-12. The team will then head back to Vancouver, where they will clash with the Lions in the West Semi-Final on Saturday, November 4.