Johnny Manziel plays better in second start; Montreal Alouettes still lose

What a difference a week makes.

On Saturday night in his second game as the Montreal Alouettes' starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel completed 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards with no interceptions. And although the Alouettes lost to the Ottawa Redblacks, Manziel drew praise.

Just a week earlier on Aug. 3 -- his first start in the Canadian Football League-- Manziel threw four first-half interceptions in a 50-11 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Saturday night was much different. Manziel even showed a glimpse of his Heisman Trophy-winning days at Texas A&M.

In the third quarter, Manziel bolted up the middle for 17 yards. As he was about to cross the goal line, he took a crushing blow from Ottawa's Jonathan Rose.

Manziel crumpled and fumbled, but a teammate recovered the ball for a touchdown. A woozy Manziel got up and left the field, but returned without missing a series.

Asked to talk about his improvement over the first game, Manziel told reporters, "I mean, we didn't turn the ball over, we didn't throw four picks in the first half."

After two games, Manziel has completed 27 of 36 pass attempts for 272 yards with no touchdowns and four picks.