Low five: how the Calgary Stampeders gave away victory to the Argos

Photo: Guang Quan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Calgary Stampeders have been riding high on offence while compensating for a defence that has been suspect for much of the season, allowing far more points per game than any team outside of Ottawa.

Friday night in Toronto, the Stampeders fell 33-30, surrendering their exact average points against, while scoring far below the 40 points per game they had been coming in. The defence generated five turnovers, but the offence struggled to get anything going.

Here are the five plays that had the biggest impact on the game:

Grant takes it back — 10:34 left in Q2

I don’t know exactly how many return touchdowns Janarion Grant has scored against Calgary, but it sure feels like whenever Calgary is giving up a kick return major, he is the one flying down the field.

After the Stamps had seen him go to the wide side of the field in the first quarter, they shaded a few steps too far and allowed a seam to develop. Grant took the one-hopper back 64 yards to the house in a near-straight shot down the sideline, as Derek Slywka sprung him with a final block on punter Mark Vassett.

That gave Toronto a 13-7 lead that they otherwise did not deserve.

Penalty takes points off the board — 10:15 left in Q3

Calgary was trailing by a field goal when they got their first possession of the second half. Just four plays later, Vernon Adams Jr. found Tevin Jones wide-open on the sideline, and he scored easily.

Sadly for the team and their fans, Adams only had the time to find Jones because of a holding call against right tackle Bakyne Coly that nullified the play. The ensuing loss of yards also pushed the team out of what likely would have been a very long field goal attempt.

There is no guarantee that head coach Dave Dickenson would have attempted the kick instead of punting, but no one is going for a 67-yard attempt, which is what this became due to the penalty.

Adams sacked on the goal line — 6:20 left in Q4

This Stampeders offence has become a team of extremes. As long as they stay on the field for more than two plays, they will score more often than not. Doing that has been the challenge.

Before the game against Toronto, the Stamps had 110 offensive drives resulting in 34 touchdowns and 15 field goals, which means they added to the scoreboard 45 percent of the time. However, they also have a 36 percent chance of going two-and-out, the highest percentage in the league.

This type of feast-or-famine behaviour reared its ugly head again in this game, as the Stamps had another five drives that ended without a first down, including a more crucial moment I will address next.

On this occasion, the Stampeders were backed up in their own end after a great punt by the Argos. A quick incompletion later and the Stamps were facing a second-and-10 from their own nine-yard line. A bull rush from Argo’s defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo against left tackle D’Antne Demery resulted in a sack, and the Stamps were pinned on their own one-yard line.

Grateful to have survived without giving up the safety for the moment, Calgary punted the ball. On the very next play, Samuel Hicks scored his second touchdown of the game on a 40-yard scamper to retake the lead, a play in which the Stampeders had just 11 men on the field.

Mills Stuffed — 1:35 left in Q4

Dedrick Mills has been one of the most consistent rushers in the league throughout his career. On this night, playing against a team coming off a bye while his own team was on just five days’ rest, Mills had a relatively ineffective evening.

The performance was punctuated by a late third-and-one carry that was stuffed by Bubba Bolden at the point of attack, turning the ball over and giving the Argos the chance to win.

Instead of relying on the short-yardage team, offensive coordinator Pat DelMonaco and head coach Dave Dickenson decided to hand the ball off from the shotgun formation.

After the game, Dickenson told the media that he expected they would get at least the required one yard there, which is why he chose not to punt for field position. He also suggested that he felt like his team was at their limit of exhaustion and that playing for the potential of overtime would have been a bad idea.

It’s easy to say something is the wrong call after it doesn’t work. Mills gains yardage far more often than he loses it, so you can see why the decision was made. The result was still the result.

Jones dances too long — 0:11 left in Q4

After the Argos scored the go-ahead field goal with 11 seconds left on the clock, they elected to pooch the ensuing kickoff, and it wound up in the hands of Tony Jones.

Jones would run around laterally behind blockers for nearly 10 seconds before being brought down at his own 48-yard line. That time proved to be valuable, as the only play left for the Stamps was a desperation heave towards the end zone that was ultimately intercepted.

That was Adams’ second interception of the game, as his streak of 299 consecutive pass attempts without a pick came to an end late in the first quarter.

If Jones had gone down at the first sign of contact, it might have provided options for the Calgary offence to try and get into field goal range. As it was, the heave was the last gasp of a team that deserved better considering the situation.

Next up

Another Thursday night game, this time at home, as the Stamps will host Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions at McMahon Stadium on August 13. Kickoff is slated for 9:00 p.m. EDT.