Tevin Jones: Calgary Stampeders believe they’re CFL’s best but ‘record doesn’t show it’

Photo: Blair Takahashi/COACHTAK/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Calgary Stampeders are currently in last place in the West Division but they still believe they’re the top dogs in the Canadian Football League.

“We think we’re the best team in the whole CFL, but our record doesn’t show it,” receiver Tevin Jones told the media in Calgary on Tuesday. “(Ottawa’s) record doesn’t show it either, but they’re a great teams hands down.”

The Red and White are coming off a 40-38 win over the winless Redblacks, with the second half of the home-and-home between the two teams scheduled for Saturday.

The victory came on the final play of the game, when Rene Paredes kicked a 62-yard game-winning field goal with no time left on the clock. It was the third-longest field goal in CFL history and the league’s longest-ever walk-off winner.

“Rene went out there and did what he’s supposed to do. It was a great moment. You felt the energy of the crowd, and I’m just glad that we came out with the win,” said Jones.

“It’s always a big spark for us when we win like that, and we’re going to try to use that momentum to carry us to the next game.”

The Stampeders have been looking for a spark for a while.

The squad went 1-4 in the five games leading up to last week’s victory, with the lone win coming against the lowly Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Each of the team’s first six losses this season came by one score, but that changed in the Labour Day Classic. After trailing for most of the game, Edmonton completed an impressive comeback to win 38-28.

Calgary hit rock bottom the following week, when the Elks dominated the rematch at Commonwealth Stadium to win by a score of 53-16.

Ottawa is 0-13 on the year, putting them one loss shy of matching the Shreveport Pirates for the worst start to a season in CFL history. The team has also lost 19 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last year, setting a new modern league record.

Despite last week’s win, it doesn’t seem the Stampeders are taking the Redblacks lightly.

“I don’t care who we’re playing — little league, high school, or college — we’ve gotta go out there and play like they’re the best team in the world,” said Jones.

“All we’ve gotta do is go out there and focus on ourselves and put one foot in front of the other and do what we’re supposed to do.”

The Calgary Stampeders (6-8) will visit the Ottawa Redblacks (0-13) on Saturday, September 26 with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at McMahon Stadium last week, where Rene Paredes kicked a 62-yard game-winning walk-off field goal.

The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS2, CTV, and Crave in Canada, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 770 CHQR in Calgary or TSN 1200 in Ottawa.