They can’t all be mounted in some gilded golden frame and hang inside a salon behind bullet-proof glass in the Louvre, a la the Mona Lisa.

“No, it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece but it does show once again the character we have,’’ reasoned Bo Levi Mitchell, on rundown Saturday morning, a dozen or so hours after putting a scrappy, down-to-the-wire 21-17 victory over the BC Lions to bed.

“That’s the thing about this team: When I’m having a bad game or maybe we’re struggling in one area, we’re still winning by four points.

“Multi-turnover games that turn into touchdowns and you lose by 10, 15, 20 points? You’re not going to see that with us.

“Man, of course we’d like to put up a whole bunch of points every game and win by 50. But this is too good a league for that.

“No matter what, we’re going to fight, claw, scratch, bite, you name it, to get that W. If that’s what it takes.

“We’re a team. Together. All three phases.

“If one, or two, of those (phases) are being held in check we know that third one will make a play and get us going again.”

Any lingering dissatisfaction of a result that pushed you to 6-1-1 only goes to reflect the dizzyingly high standards deeply rooted out at McMahon Stadium.

Because on the heels of Edmonton’s first loss of the campaign at Winnipeg, the Stamps have crept to within a point of the top rung in a chaotically claustrophobic West Division.

“Get the win, especially in the dogfights,’’ lectured middle linebacker Alex Singleton, once again stellar with eight tackles and an interception. “Especially at BC. It’s not as if we were playing at home. We were in a hostile environment. That team had redemption on their minds after the week before and wherever we go, whenever we play, we bring a reputation with us. Teams gear up for us.

“So we know we’ve got a battle on our hands every week.”

Singleton makes a tackle against BC (Photo by Canadian Press/Jimmy Jeong)

The difficulties presented by the Leos defensively were reflected in Mitchell’s stats. The reigning MOP completed less than 50 per cent of his throws, going 15 of 31. Modest. At least by his lofty standards.

“I think we’ve got to realize it’s going to be tough winning any game,’’ countered boss Dave Dickenson.

“We’ve won a lot through the years so we maybe get a little spoiled.

“Both teams played super hard. It wasn’t great football but to come out on top like that … like I said, I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any time.

“Yeah, we’ve got stuff to work on, improve on, but they stuck together and made the plays when they had to.”

As stubborn and challenging as BC’s stronghold proved to be, Calgary’s resistance still outshone it.

Both returnees to the defence, defensive end Ja’Gared Davis and linebacker Junior Turner, made healthy contributions.

What struck Dickenson most, though, was the overall excellence of his secondary.

“I feel our back end played the best of the whole unit,’’ adjudged the man whose opinion counts most. “Our DBs played excellent. To me, it almost worked back-to-front. I thought our linebacker play was good except for being undisciplined a bit. Our front did all right. (Jonathon) Jennings moved around and we at least made him a pocket passer.

“I just thought overall our secondary played well. They tackled well, they were ball-hawks.

“I thought it was probably as good a game as they’ve played all year.”

Dickenson during a game in BC on Aug. 18, 2017 (Photo by Darryl Dyck)

After some early-season travails, co-ordinator DeVone Claybrooks’s unit has now surrendered the fewest points, the fewest points per game (20.9), owns the best turnover ratio (plus-9) while ranking second in yards allowed via the pass per game (270.6) and first in passing defence efficiency (87.7).

“Definitely they should be getting love now because at the beginning of the season they were getting some hate, undeservedly,’’ quietly scolded Mitchell.

“They were getting trash-talked by the media early on. ‘Where is the Stampeder defence?’ Blah, blah, blah.”

Nearby, Singleton had an ear cocked to the conversation.

Spotting him listening in, Mitchell teased: “I was actually talkin’ y’all up, but now I’m not going to.”

No need, actually. The proof was there for all to see on Saturday night, live with the roof retracted at B.C. Place or on the couch at home, watching TSN.

“It’s a long season,’’ reminded Singleton. “Even this week, as well as people are saying we played, there are still a ton of things to improve on.

“What’s encouraging is to play pretty well, to win, and still know we have so much to get better at. That’s what we’re striving for, week in and week out.

“The idea is to keep building, keep catching our stride, so by the end of the season we’re perfect.”