Kevin Glenn saves the day for the Stamps

It's amazing how quickly a player can go from a CFL team's goat to its hero. For Calgary Stampeders' quarterback Kevin Glenn, that transformation only took seven days, and it came in similar circumstances. Although Glenn largely played well last Thursday against Montreal and his team led until the late moments, a brutal interception near the end of the game allowed the Alouettes to come away with an implausible 33-32 victory. The reverse was true this Thursday against Saskatchewan; Glenn struggled early, but bounced back to have an outstanding night and lead the Stampeders on a ridiculous comeback that saw them overcome a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and knock off the league-leading Roughriders 41-38 in overtime. It's a remarkably redemptive performance from Glenn, and if he continues to play like this, Calgary might not be in as much trouble as had been thought without starter Drew Tate.

It took Glenn a while to find his stride, but when he did, the Riders' previously excellent defence simply couldn't handle the Stampeders' aerial offence. Calgary still trailed 35-18 until there were less than six minutes in this one, but Glenn caught fire late, hitting Nik Lewis with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 5:40 left, then finding Larry Taylor on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 3:25 left and then driving 83 yards to set up a game-tying Rene Paredes field goal at the death that sent the game to overtime. Part of that was on the Riders' offence, of course, which had some of their established aerial issues all night and couldn't move the ball at all late, but the Stamps' defence made some crucial plays in the fourth quarter and Glenn took full advantage. That story repeated itself in overtime; Saskatchewan was held to a field goal on their first possession, and Glenn then calmly stepped in and completed two passes (including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Lewis, his third TD reception of the night) to give Calgary the victory.

This was about more than just Glenn's heroics down the stretch, though, as his overall stats on the night were also quite impressive. He finished with 27 completions on 45 attempts (60 per cent) for 380 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. Sure, a lot of those yards and touchdowns came late in the contest, but those are solid overall totals, and that's notable considering that many winning quarterbacks of late haven't exactly shone in those departments. Of course, it's far too early to declare that the Stampeders' offensive problems are solved, that Glenn's going to continue to be a capable starter in the absence of Tate and that this win shows Calgary's back as a contender; it's just one game, and it's one where the Stamps weren't overly impressive in the first three quarters. There should be plenty of optimism amongst Calgary fans at the moment, though, and much of that should be placed on Glenn's remarkable turnaround. Last week, he snatched defeat from the jaws of almost-sure victory, but this week, he looked more like conquering hero than sacrificial goat. If he continues to play like he did down the stretch, the rest of the league should watch out.