Stampeders want to bounce back against Alouettes, Philpot rivalry continues

CALGARY — Cue the CFL season’s second instalment of Philpot brotherly love shoved to the sidelines when the Calgary Stampeders host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

Tyson Philpot’s 132 receiving yards and first-quarter touchdown were catalysts in Montreal’s 37-30 win over visiting Calgary last week.

Jalen Philpot is proud of his twin brother, younger by a few minutes, when Tyson has a good game . . . against any other team but his.

“He can go crazy against everybody but us,” Jalen said Friday. “When he’s playing us, I hope he drops everything and I hope that he doesn’t score.

“We’re our biggest competitors. We look at each other’s stats every week. We want to one-up each other.”

The 25-year-old receivers from Delta, B.C., were University of Calgary Dinos teammates before they were drafted by their respective CFL clubs.

Tyson, who earned a CFL player-of-the-week nod, and the Alouettes are in Calgary on Saturday for the back end of a home and home.

The Stampeders (2-3) turned the ball over on downs 15 yards from the end zone on the second-last play of the game in Montreal in Week 6.

Defensive end David Perales, who knocked down a Vernon Adams Jr. pass intended for Erik Brooks on that play, is out this week because of a groin injury.

Jalen Philpot totalled 66 receiving yards, including a 38-yarder to set up a third-quarter Stampeder touchdown.

Calgary’s 166 points in its last four games is the most since 2016, yet the Stampeders went 2-2 in that span.

“It’s tough,” Philpot said. “It used to be score 30 points and it gives you a great chance to win. We’ve done that pretty much every game, so it just means we’ve got to do more.”

Saturday’s game at McMahon Stadium features the only two CFL quarterbacks who have yet to throw an interception this season.

Davis Alexander has thrown for over 300 yards in each of Montreal’s first five games this season en route to a 4-1 record to top the East Division.

Since July of 2025, Alexander has thrown 304 pass attempts without a pick. He threatens to overtake Darian Durant (323) for the CFL record Saturday.

Adams’ run of interception-free football survived a couple of Alouette near-misses in Montreal, where he threw for 272 yards and three touchdown passes.

“After every game your coach gives you evaluation and there’s been games where I had turnover-worthy plays,” said Adams, who has 14 touchdown throws so far this season. “It could have been an interception, but my receivers probably knocked it out of his hand or something like that, so I give a lot credit to those guys, too.

“I am doing a better job not throwing it into too many people. We would call it a team meeting back there, one versus two or three guys.”

Ricky Ray threw 17 touchdown passes before his first interception in 2013, which is a CFL record.

Calgary’s three losses were either last-minute or in overtime, so Adams wants the offence starting faster. The Als led 24-13 at halftime in the opener of the two-game series.

Head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson wants more out of his defence and special teams against Montreal to support an offence that’s producing.

“It’s going to be key if we can hopefully create some turnovers. They’ve been real solid in not giving any up,” Dickenson said.

“The flip side is as an offence, we’ve got to limit turnovers, we’ve got to make sure we have good ball security and make good decisions.”

Middle linebacker Marquel Lee, who led the Stampeders with eight tackles last week, is a game-day decision. He didn’t practice this week because of illness.

Alouettes linebacker Micah Awe was fined the league’s maximum this week for a high hit on Adams.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press