Marquay McDaniel’s touchdown catch in the final minute proved to be the difference as the Calgary Stampeders extended their winning streak to seven games, sweeping their home-and-home series with a 25-22 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday.
The Stampeders remain in first place in the CFL with a record of 9-1-1. Edmonton has dropped four straight games to fall to 7-4.
The game was a defensive battle to start until Calgary got on the board with a 19-yard Rene Paredes field goal with 2:23 left in the opening quarter after the Stampeders got the ball deep in Edmonton territory due to a bad snap on a punt.
Edmonton responded shortly afterward to start the second quarter, as Derel Walker took the handoff on a reverse and scored on a two-yard touchdown run. The convert kicked missed, but it was still the Eskimos’ first lead in more than three games at 6-3.
Jamill Smith of the Edmonton Eskimos catches a Calgary Stampeders kick during CFL action on Saturday. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press )
The Esks added a 26-yard Chris Milo field goal on their next possession, before Calgary came back with a 39-yard three-pointer of its own.
Calgary surged back into the lead with 47 seconds left in the first half as a 48-yard pass from Bo Levi Mitchell to Marken Michel set up a one-yard unconverted TD plunge by Andrew Buckley to make it 12-9 at the break.