Stampeders keep playoff hopes alive with 45-31 victory over winless Redblacks

Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. (3) hands the ball off to Calgary Stampeders running back Deonta McMahon (20) against the Ottawa Redblacks during first half CFL action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Keito Newman

OTTAWA — Calgary Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson took the stand for the bench boss across from him.

Ottawa head coach Ryan Dinwiddie left his job in Toronto -- where he won two Grey Cups between 2022 and 2024 -- with hopes of rebuilding a Redblacks team that has struggled for sometime now. And his first season in the nation’s capital has not gone as planned, falling to 0-14 after a 45-31 loss to Calgary on Saturday.

“I’ve got respect for Ryan,” Dickenson said. “I think the league knows he’s an excellent offensive mind, head coach.”

Dickenson worked with Dinwiddie in Calgary when Ottawa’s current sideline boss was an assistant coach for the Stampeders.

“I know this year hasn’t gone the way he was hoping for, obviously, but I know he’s going to just keep working,” Dickenson said of his Ottawa counterpart. “He’ll find a way.”

The Stampeders (7-8) kept their playoff hopes alive while the Redblacks’ winless woes continued.

Calgary was tied for fourth with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division at 14 points each.

The Hamilton Tigers-Cats, ranked third in the East, were eliminated from playoff contention after a 37-35 overtime loss to the Edmonton Elks later Saturday, locking in a crossover in the playoffs.

The team that ranks fourth in the West can cross over and take a playoff berth from the No. 3 team in the East with more points at the end of the regular season.

Deonta McMahon led Calgary with a pair of touchdowns in the win, the first of which came in the Stampeders’ first drive of the game, setting the tone for Ottawa’s early deficit.

The Stampeders scored on their opening drive when Adams threw 45 yards to Barnes to get to Ottawa’s 12-yard line, and then threw to McMahon to score.

McAllister scored on a 28-yard rush and McMahon ran four yards for his second touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Anthony Johnson intercepted Bethel-Thompson on the drive after McMahon’s touchdown.

In total, McMahon scored both a rushing and a receiving touchdown, Tevin Jones and Clark Barnes caught touchdown passes and Tyreik McAllister scored a rushing touchdown for the Stampeders.

Calgary’s quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 24 of 30 pass attempts for 422 yards and three touchdowns, and was interception-free.

Receiver Jalen Philpot surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in the win.

“He’s looking fast and running with the ball,” Dickenson said of Philpot. “He does a lot of gritty stuff in the run game as well.”

“If we’re going to do well, he’s gotta continue to be the guy.”

Calgary led the entire game Saturday after needing a 62-yard field goal by Rene Paredes to beat the visiting Redblacks last week at McMahon Stadium.

Paredes kicked field goals from 40, 49 and 43 yards and contributed five convert points. His Ottawa counterpart Brett Lauther was good from 13, 56 and 28 yards and added two convert points.

Ottawa mounted a solid late-game push, but just couldn’t get over the hump, according to quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who ended a 75-yard, eight-play drive with a 13-yard catch and run with Eberhardt for Ottawa’s first touchdown of the game with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

“In the third and the fourth we just played simple football and did the simple things well,” Bethel-Thompson said.

Calgary kept the pressure on in the third quarter when Jones capped the final seconds with a 15-yard scoring catch.

Ottawa mustered a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter and a two-point convert by Hardy with less than five minutes to go.

It wasn’t enough to overtake the Stampeders, however, and earn a first win this season.

Justin Hardy and Ayden Eberhardt had touchdown catches and Mario Anderson Jr. scored a rushing touchdown for Ottawa.

“We’re definitely close and (it’s) a testament to the guys in the locker room how they fought, keep fighting each week,” Bethel-Thompson said.

Bethel-Thompson in his second straight start for the Redblacks this season went 30-for-47 passing for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception.

“One thing we can’t question is our fight, we fight for a full 60,” Dinwiddie said. “Now our level of execution has got to get better.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.

David Cummings, The Canadian Press