After being chewed up and spit out by the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos last month, the Toronto Argonauts have found their swagger again.

It wasn’t that long ago the Argos were on a three-game skid in which they gave up 115 points. Winning two straight games, however, can do wonders.

“Hopefully this means we’re starting to peak and get hot at the right time,” defensive end Ricky Foley said.

An indication their swagger — or at least an all-for-one mentality — is back came before Thursday’s walkthrough, part of the preparations for the Argos’ Thanksgiving Day game in Montreal.

The Star asked to talk to Trevor Harris, Chad Owens and Foley. Usually, each person is interviewed separately. But when the walkthrough was over, the three sauntered over to the reporter and asked if they could to the interviews together. A bonding moment.

Owens even chirped the reporter for calling him a “tiny veteran” in a tweet describing his one-handed touchdown catch that beat Ottawa with 24 seconds left on Tuesday.

“When you’re so used to throwing to 6-foot-3 plus (receivers), he’s (Trevor Harris) had to adjust to me,” the 5-foot-8 Owens joked before turning serious. “Little . . . big . . . it don’t matter. We’re all the same. We’re going to make plays.”

The Argos’ confidence has come just in time, with five games left in the CFL’s regular season. Only one of their remaining opponents, the Calgary Stampeders, has a winning record.

The Argos face the reeling Alouettes twice, the Stampeders, B.C. and Winnipeg.

The Argos, with an 8-5 record, know that getting to nine or 10 wins should get them into the post-season, where anything is possible. They won the Grey Cup in 2012 after putting up a mediocre 9-9 mark in the regular season.

Tailback Brandon Whitaker, who threw the key block when the Redblacks brought pressure on Harris on the winning throw to Owens, said each player is a believer.

“We’ve got five games left, but I feel we’re going in the right direction,” said Whitaker, who is returning to Montreal for the first time as an Argo. “Of course, I see us as winning all of them. But that’s the mentality we have every week.”

Harris has rebounded to the point where he again is a candidate to be the East Division’s outstanding player nominee. He threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns against Ottawa on Tuesday, and has led the Argos to touchdowns on their first drive in each of the last two games.

Harris tries to bring a few qualities to the field: being tough mentally and physically, being accurate and being poised. And the 29-year-old quarterback believes “you’ve also got to be a great decision maker.” It is something he continues to work on. While Harris has completed almost 72% of his passes, the best mark among CFL starters, he has also thrown interceptions in his last six games.

The Argos still have many holes on defence, but head coach Scott Milanovich likes the way the group is pressuring quarterbacks and making big plays in the secondary.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The defensive front four has become a bright spot, with five sacks against the Redblacks.

“We’re starting to gel as a unit,” Foley said. “When you play as a unit, the sacks come easier sometimes.”