In the last drive of Winnipeg's 17-14 win over the Montreal Alouettes, Roberts ran six times for 94 yards, giving him 159 yards off 19 carries.

``If I hadn't (rushed for so many yards in the last drive), it probably wouldn't have been that great of a game,'' Roberts said Thursday after practising for Friday's rematch at home (7:30 p.m. ET TSN).

``I did some things good, catching the ball and other things like that, but I wasn't that happy about the performance.''

There's plenty motivating him to have a better outing Friday, in front of what's expected to be more than 27,000 fans at Canad Inns Stadium. The 7-6 Alouettes have lost six straight games and a victory by the 7-7 Bombers would split the season series (2-2) between the clubs.

The win would also give Winnipeg first place in the CFL East Division, although Toronto (7-6) hosts Calgary (9-5) on Saturday.

The Bombers could also clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2003 if they win and Edmonton (4-9) loses to Saskatchewan (7-6) on Saturday.

Then there's the rushing race to consider. Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds has 1,256 yards, 20 ahead of the always-competitive Roberts.

Roberts said Montreal isn't the same squad that started the season and it's time to take advantage of that.

``From the first game of the year till last week, there's definitely a different swagger,'' he said of the Als. ``They're hurting right now. You don't have no swagger when you're hurting.''

The Als are trying to get that spirit back, starting with a team dinner defensive tackle Ed Philion organized for Thursday night at their Winnipeg hotel.

It's a first, but they're willing to try anything to get the team back on track, Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo said.

``When you've lost six games, we're in an area where we've never been before,'' he said. ``The locker room has been great and we're just trying to see how we can just continue to come together.''

It's not one thing that's been killing the team, Calvillo said, explaining each unit seems to be taking turns having off games. Then there's the 22 turnovers the team committed during its losing skid.

``We could still win ball games by making mistakes if we don't turn the ball over,'' Calvillo said. ``The last six weeks we've been turning the ball over and it's been destroying us.''

Montreal head coach Don Matthews said losing is a slippery slope and he's trying to get his team to stay positive by focusing on the good things they did when they were winning.

``It takes one game to get this thing turned around and we expect it to be this week. Same thing as we did last week,'' Matthews said.

And when you look at the tight race for first in the East, it's added motivation.

``We have our own destiny in our hands,'' Matthews said. ``We need to be able to win first place. We cannot expect it to be given to us, nor can Winnipeg, nor can Toronto.

``Everybody has to win games down the stretch and see how it ends up. We're in no different shape than anybody else.''

Montreal has a trio of changes for the game. Defensive tackle Dario Romero replaces R-Kal Truluck (hand), cornerback Lamont Brightful is in for Darrel Crutchfield (ribs) and linebacker Scott Mennie replaces Mike Vilimek (concussion).

The Bombers have starting offensive lineman Val St. Germain, receiver Chris Brazzell and cornerback Sanford Samuels back from injury.

Notes: Matthews has never lost more than four games in a row since joining the Als in 2002...The last time the Als lost six straight was 2001, when they finished the regular season with seven losses in a row. Head coach Rod Rust was replaced by GM Jim Popp after the sixth loss.