These are desperate times for the B.C. Lions. 
The defending Grey Cup champions are on a three-game losing skid and have only one win in their last six starts. 
The Lions 6-8 record leaves them hanging onto third place in the CFL West, one point behind the 6-9-0-1 Calgary Stampeders. 
But B.C. is also taking nervous glances at the 6-9 Toronto Argonauts who could cross over from the East and take that final playoff spot in the West. 
The Lions can barely afford any more losses but face a huge challenge Saturday night when they host the East-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers who bring their 13-2 record and 11-game winning streak into B.C. Place (10:30 p.m.). 
"It starts here," said quarterback Damon Allen. 
"This game sets the tone for the rest. Our backs are against the wall so we have no choice but to go out and be in a desperate situation. 
"We have to be desperate but confident, desperate but patient. That's the mode of thinking you have to be in." 
Bomber quarterback Khari Jones, who spent his first three years in the league as Allen's understudy, is the CFL's leader in passing yards , touchdowns and interceptions . 
Behind his leadership, and the sure hands of receiver Milt Stegall, the offensive player of the week who leads the CFL with 11 touchdown catches, the Bombers have been playing confident football. 
They aren't blowing teams away -- seven of their last nine victories have been by five points or less -- but are finding ways to win. 
"Even though all the games we are playing are pretty close ... I felt like in the fourth quarter we had the ball most of the time and we were able to make plays," said Jones. 
"If you keep doing it over and over, I don't think you can call it a fluke or chance. It's a sign of a good team. 
"It's the ability to pull out the close ones that is making this team a quality team." 
In their last meeting, the Bombers beat the Lions 23-22. 
With seven seconds left, backup quarterback David Rivers mishandled a snap and kicker Matt Kellett missed on a potential game-winning field goal. 
Kellett said the miss isn't weighing on his mind. 
"There was no way I was going to be able to hit that field goal with circumstances that happened," he said. "It wasn't meant to be." 
Injuries to players like Allen (broken left hand), wide receiver Alfred Jackson (out the last nine games with a knee injury) and slotback Darnell McDonald (returning this week from an Achilles problem) has hobbled the Lions offence. 
B.C. has scored 331 points this season. 
Only Hamilton and Saskatchewan have scored less. 
But what's really driven coach Steve Buratto crazy are the mental errors. 
The Lions have fumbled a league-high 31 times and turned the ball over on downs 11 times, more than anyone else in the CFL. 
B.C. has also been called for 147 penalties, third-most in the league. 
"We've committed some penalties which have put us in bad field position and taken things away from us," said Buratto. 
"Turnovers are a huge problem." 
If the Lions can stop shooting themselves in the foot, they can be a danger to other teams, Buratto said. 
"We can beat the Bombers," he said. "What we need to do is go out and play with great intensity and intelligence and execute. 
"We do that, we have the skills to be successful. Now we're just getting in our own way." 
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