Redblacks smother Stampeders to sweep season series (& 11 other thoughts)

August 1, 2025

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

While I can’t state with certainty the Ottawa Redblacks have petitioned the league to only play Calgary for the rest of the season, I can confirm they’ve officially swept the Stampeders in the 2025, with Thursday night’s 31-11 beatdown at TD Place being the team’s second victory of the year.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

1) Early in the bye week, general manager Shawn Burke went on TSN 1200 and stated he still believed head coach Bob Dyce was the right man to lead the Redblacks forward despite the team’s unexpected poor start. Dyce in turn chose not to shake up his coaching staff. Both decisions were heavily scrutinized by R-Nation, but for now, the choice to keep things steady has paid off.

Some will choose to dismiss the victory because of the players Calgary was missing from their lineup, but that’s silly as the Redblacks were missing numerous players during their four-game losing streak. The reality of the CFL is that all teams deal with injury issues and hope their depth proves enough to keep them afloat.

For now, Dyce has delivered a much-needed win and the focus shifts to building positive momentum to keep things moving in the right direction.

2) A week after taking a hellacious blindside hit, quarterback Dru Brown was back on the field at TD Place. The 28-year-old was his usual steady self, completing 70 percent of his passes against the Stampeders for 225 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception. The turnover came as a result of a pass he didn’t step into and floated over the middle. It was perhaps his lone poor decision of the evening, otherwise Brown was in rhythm and repeatedly hit his receivers in stride.

Brown never pushed the ball deep, but feasted on intermediate slant routes, consistently putting the ball right on the money. If anyone had any lingering doubts about his health, his 16 yard-scramble in the first half should have erased them. What’s clear is that when Brown is healthy and on the field, Ottawa will be competitive in every game.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

3) Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell called a solid game against the Stampeders. Coming into the contest, Calgary had only allowed eight touchdowns on the year. Ottawa scored three against them. That kind of production doesn’t happen by accident.

From the start, it was clear Ottawa was committed to the run, something that hasn’t happened much in 2025. The Redblacks ultimately dialled up 22 run plays to 27 passes, a healthy balance that many — including myself — have been clamouring to see for weeks.

Another thing the Redblacks did well was finish drives with touchdowns and convert on second down to keep drives alive. Ottawa went three-of-four in the red zone and converted 50 percent (12-of-24) second down opportunities. Ultimately they finished with 273 yards of offence and 17 first downs.

But for all the positives, Condell’s attack still has plenty of room to improve. Of Ottawa’s 15 possessions, nine gained 21 yards or less. It was clear Calgary had done their homework and knew when the screens the Redblacks heavily rely on were coming. More than once a screen was snuffed out and clearly had no chance of succeeding. One hitch was also very fortunate not to be pick-sixed.

Finally, as much as there is the need to spread the ball around given the various weapons in the receiving corps, having the always dangerous Kalil Pimpleton only have two targets — both being shovel pass sweeps — seems like a mis-use of his talents. The sooner Ottawa can get him more involved in the passing game, specifically stretching the field, the better.

4) Even if you are of the belief the Redblacks’ defensive performance against Calgary needs to be taken with a grain of salt given the players they were missing, it was still a dominant outing. You can only play the players lined up against you and William Fields’ unit smothered the Stampeders offence.

Coming into the game, Calgary not only boasted the CFL’s top rushing attack, averaging 127 yards per game, but they also had the second most explosive plays. The Redblacks only allowed one explosive, and rendered the run game useless, holding the Stampeders to 35 yards on the ground, 2.1 yards per rush attempt.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

How did they get it done? By playing fundamentally sound football, staying in their gaps, swarming to the ball and getting great penetration, as demonstrated by their four tackles for a loss. Calgary frequently found themselves in second and long situations as Ottawa limited them to 3.1 yards per first down play.

Of Calgary’s 16 possessions, nine gained seven yards or less. Ottawa also generated four takeaways, three interceptions and a turnover on downs, notched a sack and never let the Stampeders into the red zone. In fact, Calgary’s lone touchdown came late in garage time in the fourth quarter.

There were a long list of individual standout performances but we’ll start with middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox. In his 100th career game, the veteran made seven tackles. Strong-side linebacker Adarius Pickett was also a force, making five tackles and a great knockdown on a deep ball. Rounding out the linebacking group was Canadian Lucas Cormier. Although he was “only” credited with three tackles, he played a hard-nosed game and was frequently in on gang-tackles.

As might be expected from a secondary facing a quarterback making his first CFL start, Ottawa’s defensive backs flourished, knocking down six passes. C.J. Coldon made four tackles, with two being for a loss. Alijah McGhee made five tackles and his 61-yard pick-six gave the team some breathing room in the fourth quarter.

Amari Henderson had three tackles, two knockdowns and an interception of his own. DeAndre Lamont had a pair of tackles, a knockdown and a pick.

If nothing else, this outing should give the defence plenty of confidence to build on.

5) Following the bye, the Redblacks were able to add seven healthy players to their roster, and perhaps none proved to be more impactful than centre Peter Godber. That’s not to take anything away from veteran Jacob Ruby, who filled in admirably in Godber’s absence, but the 31-year-old was signed to be Ottawa’s starting centre for a reason. Aside from a bad snap on the second play of the game, Godber was exactly as advertised.

But while the offensive line got good news with their centre, the bad was that right tackle Zack Pelehos, who was a game-time decision coming in, left after being injured on the game’s first play. He was replaced by American Parker Moorer who was once again a steady and dependable presence.

Although the Redblacks gave up three sacks, they were in tough against perhaps the best defensive line in CFL. In addition to holding up well in pass protection, the unit managed to grind out four yards per carry on the ground. It’s nothing sexy, but it was enough to get the win, and at this point of the season, that’s all that matters.

6) Speaking of the ground game, it was so good to finally see Ottawa commit to it. Veteran American William Stanback was featured for the first time all season, turning 13 carries into 52 yards and three catches into 15 receiving yards.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Canadian Daniel Adeboboye, who was averaging 7.2 yards per carry coming into the game, was given four touches, all in the fourth quarter, generating eight yards.

It’s no coincidence both Ottawa’s victories this season have come when they’ve stuck with running the ball. Hopefully that’s a formula they lean into going forward.

7) It was a very strong outing from Ottawa’s receiving group. Eugene Lewis led the way in terms of yardage, making five catches for 110 yards, with 41 of those coming after the catch.

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Justin Hardy had four catches and they were good for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

In his first game back from injury, veteran Bralon Addison snagged three passes for 28 yards and took one handoff for three yards. Canadian rookie Keelan White caught a pair of passes for eight yards while Pimpleton had two catches for two yards.

8) The Ottawa Redblacks are 1-0 when long snapper Peter Adjey plays. In his season debut, the veteran long snapper was his usual reliable self. Kicker Lewis Ward was good from 18 yards out but reminded R-Nation he is indeed human when he missed from 43.

Punter Richie Leone was crushing the ball, averaging nearly 48 yards per punt, but averaged a net field position flip of 38 thanks to some leaky coverage. Calgary returner Kaylon Horton averaged 10.3 yards per punt return and 24.6 per kickoff. He also took a return all the way back for a touchdown but Ottawa was bailed out thanks to a block in the back flag.

In terms of kick coverage, although the unit itself was a little porous, two Canadians deserve a shoutout for monster games. Defensive lineman Kene Onyeka and linebacker James Peter made four and three special teams tackles respectively. Perhaps Rick Campbell’s unit needs to feature more former Ravens and Gee-Gees.

In terms of Ottawa’s return game, Pimpleton was a menace, seemingly on the verge of turning each return into a house call. Ultimately he finished by averaging eight yards per punt return, 22 per kickoff and had a 54-yard return on a missed field goal that was SO close to being a touchdown.

9) It was refreshing to see the Redblacks on the right side of penalties for a change. All in all, it was a clean game from Dyce’s squad with Ottawa being flagged five times to Calgary’s 12. Given that a large chunk of Ottawa’s issues in their six losses stemmed from them putting themselves in bad positions due to undisciplined play, it’s encouraging to see things changing for the better.

10) Shoutout to the 16,115 members of R-Nation who bought a ticket and chose to head down to TD Place on Thursday night. Their faith, resiliency, continued belief or masochism was rewarded with the team’s first home win of the season. A year after boasting a franchise best 7–1-1 record when playing at Lansdowne, this victory was overdue.

If the Redblacks can find their mojo at TD Place, it could bode well for the rest of the season, given that they still play five times at home.

11) Talk about some Western dominance. Ottawa has now won their last five meetings over Calgary. With the win, the Redblacks move to 2-6 on the year. Nobody is suddenly planning a parade but this was a victory the team had to have and they found a way to get the job done.

Up next is a trip to Toronto to take on the suddenly surging Argos. While it’s not a must-win in terms of playoffs, it is a must-win in terms of rebuilding fan belief and ensuring they remain in the mix for that third spot in the East Division.

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