Both squads are looking to rebound after a pair of disappointing Week 10 losses.
The Bombers fell to the Ottawa REDBLACKS 44-21 in their most lopsided loss of the season to date. Matt Nichols threw for 291 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. Darvin Adams was on the receiving end of both touchdown tosses, racking up 162 yards on eight catches.
The hometown crowd at Investors Group Field was visibly frustrated by the performance as boos rained down from the stands, while Nichols expressed his frustration after the game.
“It was pretty sad for me,” Nichols told the media. “Came back on the field and got booed by the whole stadium that I was coming back out there. That one was pretty hard for me.”
A few days later, Nichols gave more context to those comments and made it clear that he was moving on.
“I’ve had people from all around the league, the organization, teammates messaging me,” Nichols told BlueBombers.com at the beginning of practice this week. “I think that everyone thought it bothered me more than it did. I was more upset about the game that we had just lost… I was over it 10 minutes after the game was over and I hope everyone else can be over it now.”
Nichols has shown his ability to overcome adversity on many occasions. The 31-year-old is 9-2 when coming off a loss dating back to July 2016.
As always, national running back Andrew Harris will be one to watch on Saturday afternoon. The 31-year old has run for more than 100 yards in three games so far this season, and leads the league in rushing yards.
However, his track record against the Stamps is less than impressive. Harris has rushed for over 100 yards in 19 career game, but only one of those games has come against Calgary. The Stampeders have held Harris to under 60 yards rushing in 12 of the 16 starts he has made against them.
“For us we just have to stick to our game plan, just take what we can, and try not to get too much,” said Harris. “I think that’s where they get teams. When they get down and they try to get those big shots…. For us we just have to stick to it and not try to press too much to make something out of nothing.”
Nichols and company will have to put their best foot forward if they hope to challenge a Stamps squad that has only dropped a single game this season.
The potential of an undefeated 2018 was spoiled for the Stampeders last week as they fell to the Saskatchewan Roughriders 40-27. The Riders got off to a strong start by racking up 14 points in the first quarter and never looked back.
Calgary’s play looked uncharacteristic at moments rather than the team that burst out of the gate to a 7-0 record. The Stampeders turned the ball over a total of five times.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell put up an impressive stat line despite the loss, throwing for 275 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. DaVaris Daniels was on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes and led all Stamps receivers with 83 yards.
“The guys fought hard,” Dave Dickenson told Stampeders.com. “We made a lot of plays too. I think we’re selling our guys a little short. We battled. We just couldn’t quite get it back to that one possession game. Certainly they did deserve to win”
Calgary is putting the loss behind them and looking forward to their next challenge against Winnipeg. The Stamps have had the Bombers’ number in recent years, winning 14 of their last 16 matchups since 2011.
However, the Stamps defence is not taking the matchup lightly, despite the history between the two teams.
Their first order of business?
“Our main key is stopping the run first,” said linebacker Jameer Thurman. “Andrew Harris is a good back. We take him out of the game plan, make them one dimensional, it should be pretty good.”
The Stamps are hoping to match the Bombers’ abilities on the ground with the return of running back Don Jackson. The 24-year-old has missed the past few games with a hamstring injury.
Jackson says it has been difficult watching from the sidelines.
“It’s been tough,” said Jackson. “It’s been tough for sure. But I learned a lot… I gained perspective. I also gained a lot of trust in my guys too. I gained lot of trust in my room. Anytime we have a situation where somebody’s down, every guy has the opportunity to help us win.”
By The Numbers:
7 – Straight games that Kamar Jordan has made at least five catches.
15.8 – Average points allowed per game by the Calgary Stampeders, the fewest in the CFL. The 14 points that Calgary gave up in the first quarter last week were as many as they had allowed in the first seven games combined in opening quarters in 2018.
57 – Tackles for Adam Bighill in 2018. He now ranks #20 all-time with 566 defensive stops.
792 – League leading rushing yards for Andrew Harris.
Neither the Stamps nor Bombers have dropped back-to-back games in 2018.
Winnipeg has won three of its last four matches despite the 44-21, 23-point defeat at home to Ottawa.
Meanwhile, Calgary’s streak of avoiding back-to-back losses reached 103 games last year but ended with their three-game slide to end the year. However, that streak came after they had clinched 1st place in 2017. In that context, the last time they lost consecutive games prior to already clinching was on July 12, 2012 at Montreal (33-32) after losing 39-36 at Toronto on July 7.
Which team will have a bounce back performance in Week 11?
– With files from BlueBomebrs.com/Stampeders.com
AFI, Yare Media and the CFL
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