Close but no cigar for Lions against Stamps, but they show some positive signs

It's rare when a 12-point loss can feel like a substantial improvement, but that's the case for the B.C. Lions following a 35-23 loss to the Calgary Stampeders Friday night. The Lions came into this one at 4-6 following a terrible 31-18 home defeat against the Ottawa Redblacks, and taking on the league-leading 8-3 Stampeders on the road seemed like a recipe for disaster. That's particularly true when you add in that Calgary had posted a perfect 6-0 home record to date, that B.C. was 2-3 on the road, and that while the Stampeders were coming into this one after a loss, they hadn't suffered back-to-back losses since early in the 2012 season, a streak of 60-plus games unprecedented in CFL history. It seemed likely the Lions would fall in this one, and perhaps even probable that they'd do so in embarrassing fashion after a week that saw plenty of reports of divides in their locker room. Instead, they turned in a remarkable effort and came very close to pulling off a late comeback, even more impressive when you consider that was largely led by backup quarterback Jon Jennings following an second-quarter shoulder injury to John Beck. There's still a lot for B.C. to work on going forward, but there was some substantial progress here despite the loss, and that might be a good sign for Lions' fans.

It's interesting to consider just how close the Lions came in this one. Yes, the final 12-point margin doesn't seem that way, but within the last few minutes alone, B.C. was inches away from a touchdown on a third-and-goal pass that Emmanuel Arceneaux caught just before the goal line, and then got the ball to the end zone again in the final seconds (even if Jennings' pass there was eventually picked off). The last few minutes also saw a bad Lions' fumble deep in their own end that helped Calgary pull a little further away. Yes, the Stampeders were absolutely the better team overall, and deserving of the win, but with a couple of slightly different bounces, they might not have come away with it. That says a lot about B.C.'s improvement from their disappointing showing last week against Ottawa.

Of course, there's still a lot of improvement needed. While Jennings did have some good moments, showing off both his mobility and his arm, his overall stat line wasn't that impressive. He finished the night with just 15 completions on 27 attempts, a completion rate of 55.6 per cent, and while he threw for 251 yards, he didn't have a touchdown pass and did throw three interceptions. He also caused that poor late fumble by being indecisive on a zone-read play. That's not a bad overall showing for a CFL rookie who started the year as the Lions' third-string quarterback, but B.C. will need more aerial production to find success down the stretch. Their ground game also wasn't great Friday, especially early on, and Andrew Harris only wound up with 58 rushing yards (albeit on just 12 carries). It will need to be more consistent and a bigger part of the offence going forward.

Still, there were plenty of good signs for the Lions here. They got two great 103-yard return touchdowns from Chris Rainey, one on a punt and one on a kickoff, and they had several receivers step up. Lavelle Hawkins led the way with six catches for 106 yards, while Arceneaux added seven for 95 yards and Bryan Burnham had four for 71. The defence also had its moments, especially against the ground game, where they held Jon Cornish to 41 yards on 12 carries. B.C. will need much more to win consistently, but there were building blocks here. We'll see if they can build on them going forward.