After snapping a 26-year losing streak against the Crusaders in Christchurch with a rousing 50-24 victory last Sunday, the Brumbies were hot favourites in their first home game of the season in Canberra on Saturday.
But the Blues, buoyed by a week of training in Sydney, were in the box seat to win after leading by as much as nine points with 10 minutes remaining.
The tide turned in the 70th minute, though, when flyhalf Stephen Perofeta was yellow carded.
Moments later, flanker Luke Reimer crossed to set up a thrilling finish.
All the visitors had to do was hold onto the ball, but they couldn't, and the Brumbies had one last roll of the dice as the full-time siren rung.
They almost blew it when Cale bobbled the ball metres from the line, but the No.8 picked it up a few plays later from the ruck and planted it over the line to secure the win.
"It was intense. We were back and forth through most of the game," coach Stephen Larkham said.
"We haven't had a big challenge where we've been behind on the scoreboard. They (Brumbies) scored two tries in the last five (roughly) minutes and won the game today. We have a very settled team.
"Ideally, we need to be more accurate with the ball in hand."
The Canberrans had themselves to blame for making the match as close as it was, coughing up 19 turnovers and not scoring for 49 minutes.
"I thought the boys put in a real gutsy effort. We lost a couple of players early, finished with the yellow card, and just didn't quite have that bit at the end to get over the line," Blues coach Vern Cotter said.
"It was never going to be a game that you could get in front of, and they would go away. It's simply disappointing."
The hosts, who had scored 106 points in their opening two matches, looked like they were going to continue their dominant offence when prop James Slipper punted the ball about 60 metres and found a running Declan Meredith, who planted it over the line in the seventh minute.
But the Blues responded immediately when Caleb Clarke scored his first try when he picked off an Ollie Sapsford pass to cross underneath the posts.
Hooker Billy Pollard reinstated the Brumbies' advantage when he wrestled his way over.
The Blues bounced back, though, when outside centre AJ Lam shrugged off a flurry of defenders to muscle over and level the halftime scores at 15-15.
Clarke strolled across the line untouched for his second before Dalton Papali'i celebrated his 100th game with a five-pointer in the 63rd minute.
But the Brumbies flicked a switch, scoring two tries in the dying minutes to end the Blues' seven-year winning streak in Canberra.
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