Saying that the Calgary Stampeders’ season series against the BC Lions went poorly feels like an understatement.

The Stamps were outscored 90-47 in two lopsided beatings.

The CFL News Hub’s power rankings feel about right in this situation (#1 BC and #5 Calgary).

Judging by their head-to-head matchups, Calgary is going to be a big underdog this weekend, and rightfully so.

However, none of that matters in the playoffs. All it takes is one win to change (or end) a season. So, let’s take a look back at what went wrong for Calgary in the regular season and what they can change to give themselves a shot at scoring a first-round upset.

Vernon Adams Jr.

Vernon Adams Jr. is the unquestioned leader of the Calgary Stampeders. His play goes a long way towards determining the success, or lack thereof, of the whole team.

His stat line in the two games against BC this season was a mixed bag.

• 32/54
• 428 yards passing
• 2 tds
• 5 ints

VA played well at times against his former team, but the 5 interceptions killed any chance they had at victory. He will need to take much better care of the ball this week.

The good news is that he won’t have to do it alone.

He shares the backfield with Dedrick Mills, the CFL’s leading rusher.

Mills rushed for 78.5 yards per game against BC, right in line with his 78.3 yards per game season average. He’ll need to deliver big time for Calgary to have success in the postseason.

A strong rushing attack will take some pressure off Vernon Adams and keep the Lions’ red-hot offense on the sideline longer.

Giveaways

You can’t give the ball away and win in the playoffs. And, as Calgary proved, you can’t win many regular-season games that way either.

In the first loss to BC, the Stamps lost the turnover battle 4-0 (7-2 in both games combined).

If they want to flip the script this week, it starts with taking care of the ball.

Defense

The Calgary Stampeders had one of the best defenses in the entire CFL for most of the season. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case when they played BC.

They gave up a total of 90 points in two games against the Lions. That included a two-game average of 512.5 yards per game.

That simply won’t get it done.

The Stamps probably won’t be able to shut down the Lions offense completely, but they need to slow them down.

One way to do that is to generate a couple of turnovers. Another is to lean on their run game to keep BC off the field as much as possible.

That’s all easier said than done, but it’s the Stampeders’ only chance to avoid being one-and-done in the postseason.