Things can change quickly in the CFL. Just ask Calgary Stampeders fans if you don’t believe me.

For most of the season, the Stamps were the surprise of the league (in a good way). The last three weeks, not so much. In fact, they look like a shell of their former selves.

They’ve been outscored 121-62 in their last three games, and none of them were even competitive.

In just a few short weeks, I went from wondering if they can win the West, to wondering if they can hold on to 2nd.

Which begs the question, can Calgary hold on to 2nd place?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Reasons The Calgary Stampeders Can Finish 2nd

As bad as the last three weeks have been, there are still several very good reasons for hope.

Explosive Offense

They don’t call him Big Play VA for nothing. As long as the Calgary Stampeders have Vernon Adams Jr., they have a chance.

It’s not all him either; the Stamps have big-play receivers all over the field. They also have one of the best running games in the CFL thanks to Dedrick Mills.

If they limit 3-and-outs and turnovers, they can score as well as any team in the league.

Ball Hawking Defense

If you ignore the last three games, Calgary has the top-scoring defense in the CFL.

Recently, tackling and big plays have been an issue. But those are both fixable.

At their best, Calgary’s defense did a great job of bending, but not breaking. They were also among the best in the league at generating turnovers. If they can get back to playing that brand of defense, they will be hard to beat.

Already Beat Top Teams

With their recent struggles, it’s easy to forget the fact that the Stamps are a combined 5-0 vs Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

They’ve already proven they can beat the top teams in the CFL; they just need to go out and execute.

Reasons The Calgary Stampeders Can’t Finish 2nd

Unfortunately for Calgary Stampeders fans, there are very real reasons they mightn’t finish the season well.

Defense

The defense is allowing 23.9 points per game, which is 2nd in the CFL.

Unfortunately, most of that success took place earlier in the season. More recently, they’ve allowed 40.3 points per game in the last 3.

Even more shocking is the fact that they haven’t generated a single takeaway during that stretch. It’s hard to win games in the CFL playing that kind of defense.

Offense

Calgary’s offense has proven time and time again that it can generate big plays and score points. Unfortunately, they’ve also shown a tendency to go 3 and out or turn the ball over.

They need to do a better job of staying on the field and giving their playmakers a chance if they want to snap out of their rut.

BC Lions

Winnipeg is a good football team, but Calgary beat them 3 times. That gives them the tiebreaker and makes BC the biggest threat to overtake them for 2nd.

The BC Lions have been red-hot lately. They’ve won 3 games in a row, including a 52-23 win over the Stamps 2 weeks ago.

If the BC Lions can bring that same level of play this week, 2nd place in the West very well might be theirs.