Two last-place teams meet on Saturday night when Ottawa visits Calgary for the first of back-to-back matchups.
The Redblacks (0-12) and Stampeders (5-8) will square off again in the nation’s capital the following Saturday.
Ottawa sustained its 18th consecutive loss last weekend at Toronto, falling 26-23 on a last-second field goal.
With six games to play, its best shot at avoiding the CFL’s first 0-18 season might be the Stamps.
Calgary is coming off an ugly 53-16 loss at Edmonton last weekend and has dropped four of its last five contests.
Ottawa is switching things up and going with McLeod Bethel-Thompson as the starting quarterback at Calgary.
Bethel-Thompson has completed 25 of 39 passes for 295 yards with one touchdown and one interception this season in relief of Jake Maier, whose 14 touchdown passes are matched by 14 picks in 12 starts.
The Redblacks’ new signal-caller was asked this week what a victory would mean for a team with the longest losing streak in modern CFL history.
“Everything, man,” Bethel-Thompson said, per Sportsnet. “Just to get the weight off our shoulders. Just to stop talking about us. Everyone’s adding more weight to it. We feel that. We’re humans. Just get the goose egg off our shoulders and not be some stupid mark in the long history of this.”
He will be facing a Calgary defense that ranks next-to-last in the league in points (33.9) and yards (411.1) allowed, better than only Ottawa (36.6 and 456.8).
The Stampeders are also desperate for a win. They still have an opportunity to make a playoff push in the West but can’t afford another setback.
Calgary veteran Vernon Adams Jr. looks to bounce back after throwing just his third and fourth interceptions of the season in the lopsided loss to the Elks.
“We’re in a lull right now,” Stampeders linebacker Marquel Lee said. “We’ve got to look in the mirror this week and fix the mistakes and come back better and execute a whole better.”
Ottawa swept the two meetings last season, winning 20-12 in Calgary and 31-11 at home.
–Field Level Media
