Jon Cornish and the Calgary Stampeders run over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33-23 Saturday night

The Calgary Stampeders were heavily favoured heading into Saturday night's clash against Winnipeg, and they lived up to that, pulling off a big 33-23 win over the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg had some issues heading into this one, as the Bombers had lost six in a row and were forced to start an unproven quarterback in Brian Brohm, so it's not terribly surprising that Calgary pulled this off. Still, Winnipeg isn't an easy place to win on the road, and this was Stampeders' quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell's first start in a while following an injury. Running back Jon Cornish stepped up once again, and that was crucial to Calgary's victory.

Cornish has missed a lot of time this year with a concussion, but when he's played, he's been very good. He turned in another remarkable performance Saturday, picking up 160 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. That's an average of 7.6 yards per carry, which is impressive. He also scored the crucial clinching touchdown with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. Cornish's showing on the ground was vital to sustaning Calgary drives and putting points on the board, and he's a big reason the Stampeders won here.

Mitchell, by contrast, showed some rust. Yes, he threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, but he tossed two interceptions as well. His 64.3 per cent completion rate wasn't bad, but his overall performance was below what he's typically done this year, particularly in the turnovers department. He had 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions on the season heading into this game. That's not to say that Mitchell is incapable; he's often been great this year. He just doesn't appear to be back in peak form, and that made the performances of Cornish and other Stampeders crucial.

The defence also deserves credit here. They held Brohm to 194 passing yards (and backup Robert Marve to 64), an impressive showing. Defensive end Shawn Lemon in particular had a good night, recording two tackles with a sack and a forced fumble. Winnipeg running back Paris Cotton did do some damage against the Stamps, picking up 108 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, so the run defence can be improved, but other than that, this was a solid outing on the defensive side of the ball.

With the win, Calgary's now in excellent postseason position. The Stampeders have locked up first in the West, so the rest of the season is just now just a playoff tuneup for them. That could be a good thing, as Mitchell will probably need some time to reacclimatize. They have plenty of injuries, too, so the extra rest could be nice. This is a solid team even in its current state, though, and that was evident Saturday night. If the Stampeders are able to keep getting better, they'll be a scary postseason opponent.