Johnny Manziel is still in search of his first win in the CFL, but his performance in Sunday's 34-29 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders was a step in the right direction.

It was Manziel's best game for the Alouettes. He went 9-for-16 for 138 yards and two touchdowns, his first two in the CFL, while adding 45 yards on the ground on five carries. He moved the team's offence with more confidence and effectiveness than his previous three games.

After a slow start to his career as a starter, there are signs the 25-year-old is making strides behind centre in Montreal.

"There was a second down in the fourth quarter we had a 25-yard run. It's two-man coverage. I went through every progression. I went from left to right and really went through every read and then pulled it down and ran and got it down into the red zone," Manziel recalled to TSN's John Lu after practice Wednesday.

"That's what I'm looking for throughout more consistently: going through every read, seeing things aren't there, and then being able to take off rather than taking a three-step drop and thinking about taking off before getting through every progression."

"I've had problems with that since college sometimes and even into the NFL where I seemed to bring my eyes down a little bit and not keep them downfield and that's just me being hard on myself…and trying to eliminate it."

Manziel started his CFL career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before the Alouettes acquired him to be their starter in a July trade. Manziel was rushed into the lineup before a concussion sidelined him and opened the door for Antonio Pipkin.

Even after returning healthy, Manziel had to sit in favour of Pipkin, who had the hot hand, before returning to the starting lineup two weeks ago against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In four games this season, Manziel is 54-for-87 for 622 yards and two touchdowns to five interceptions. He has added 121 yards on the ground on 16 carries.

Head coach Mike Sherman said Manziel has looked more comfortable in the Canadian game of late.

"I do thing he's adjusting to the game," Sherman said. "He seems a lot more composed, a lot more on top of things, understanding the concepts and also just the general tempo of the game, which is a lot different than what he's been exposed to."

Teammates said they're seeing a change in Manziel as well.

"You can definitely see he's playing with a little more swagger, a little more confidence," receiver Ernest Jackson said. "He's seeing the field a lot better, especially [since] when he first came in he said that 12th guy kind of threw him off, being able to read the defence."

The Heisman Trophy winner even pulled out his trademark "Money Manziel" gesture after throwing his first touchdown pass Sunday, something that may have come at the request of his receivers.

"The guys were hounding me more about it in the last couple weeks…," Manziel said. "The receivers, they probably think more about the celebrations. But they wanted to do it – they were happy with it and they're having fun."

"I feel like now that he's been in a few games, been out here practising with us he sees it a lot better," Jackson said. "And he's definitely having that swag that Johnny's known for."