MONTREAL -- Darian Durant threw touchdown passes to Ernest Jackson and George Johnson as the Montreal Alouettes downed the visiting Toronto Argonauts 21-9 on Friday to snap their two-game losing skid.
The win propelled the Alouettes (3-4) into first place in the East Division as the Argonauts (3-5) fell to second.
Former coach Marc Trestman's return to Montreal was spoiled and extended Toronto's losing streak to three games.
Durant went 18-for-27 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Boris Bede kicked three field goals.
Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked three field goals for Toronto, the visitors' only points.
With starting quarterback Ricky Ray injured, Trestman gave the ball to 25-year-old Jeff Matthews. But Matthews threw for just 67 yards in the first half. Cody Fajardo, who replaced him at halftime, went 10 for 16 and 75 yards.
Durant got the Alouettes on the board in the first quarter with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jackson, his third TD catch of the season.
Bede added a point to Montreal's lead at the start of the second quarter after he missed a 31-yard field goal.
Durant made it 15-0 for the home side when he connected with Johnson from 16 yards out at 7:27 of the second quarter.
Before the end of the half, Durant became the 14th-best all-time passer in CFL history when he reached 30,407 throwing yards, passing Sam Etcheverry.
Hajrullahu and Bede traded two field goals apiece to give Montreal the 21-6 lead.
The Alouettes took that 15-point lead into the fourth quarter looking to prevent a collapse like their last time out. Montreal blew a 12-point lead in the final two minutes in Winnipeg two weeks ago.
Hajrullahu cut the deficit to 21-9 with his third field goal of the game with 8:36 remaining in the match.
The Argos looked to have scored a touchdown with less than two minutes on the clock but the play was called back for an illegal block.
