FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In the mind of Revolution head coach Jay Heaps, the solution to his club's current five-game winless skid is simple.

Create more chances? Sure, but that's not it. Control the midfield? That would help, but not quite. Tighten up defensively? You're getting warmer.

The underlying problem that has plagued the Revolution is actually something they have to put to an end.

"We have to stop making mistakes," Heaps said. "I think that's the key. Every time we've made a mistake, it's penalized us and that's just the way it's been going."

A look at the tape supports Heaps' assertion. Last week, the Revolution played sound defensive soccer against Sporting K.C. Well, except for that botched throw-in sequence that opened the door for Teal Bunbury to score the game winner.

Two weeks ago, it was poor man-marking near the 18 that handed the Union a comeback win. Meanwhile, similar symptoms against Toronto and Montreal all spelled the same end result: 0 points.

On Sunday, the same Montreal side that capitalized on the Revolution's mistakes on July 18 makes its first trip to Foxborough. And against a team that subscribes to the "best defense is a good offense" approach, one player who knows that mistakes have to be kept to a minimum is midfielder Benny Feilhaber.

"They defend with possession," Feilhaber said. "They're a team that's really good with the ball. We have to make sure that we limit them to playing defense as opposed to attacking us."

To do so, Feilhaber admits that he and his teammates have to "go back to the basics." Instead of forcing opportunities and trying to score two goals at a time, the Revolution simply have to go back to what worked earlier in the season: clean passing, opening up space and putting teams under pressure with numbers.

"We have to make sure we stay together as a unit," Feilhaber said. "We have to play out of the back as opposed to sending long balls and expecting to win second balls."

Another midfielder who'll be counted on to steer the Revolution back in the right direction is Lee Nguyen, who scored the lone Revolution goal against the Impact in their first meeting.

After getting silenced in the past two games, Nguyen knows what he'll have to do to resume the form that helped spark the attack during the first half of the season.

"I just have to get other players involved," Nguyen said. "I just have to get Jerry (Bengtson) involved and connect with Benny and Clyde (Simms). If we all get plenty of touches, I think we'll do well."

Getting players involved and spreading the ball around will be crucial to the Revolution's success. But from a coaching perspective, Heaps knows that his team simply has to be sharper. The passing -- crisper. The attacking -- bolder. The marking -- tighter.

Even so, the bottom line is that success rests upon each player's shoulders. Not the team's most talented, but everybody. The challenge Heaps continues to impress upon his squad is clear: Step up, or step aside.

And while it may not be easy to correct the mental errors, Heaps believes it all boils down to one of the tenants of his coaching philosophy.

"No one wants to make mistakes," Heaps said. "But to a man, it's about accountability. It's about owning up to what you do on the field a little bit more (every game)."