Colts And Packers Meet In A Preseason Showdown Of Super Bowl Favorites

(Sports Network) - Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will look to continue his letter- perfect preseason on Thursday night, when Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers welcome the Indianapolis Colts to Lambeau Field in the third preseason outing for each team.

Rodgers has a 154.0 passer rating in the warm-up period, completing 20-of-24 passes for 275 yards with three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Two of the three touchdown strikes came in last Saturday's 27-24 win at the Seattle Seahawks, with tight end Jermichael Finley and fullback John Kuhn both notching scoring grabs for the Pack.

Among players with 10 or more passing attempts in the preseason to date, Rodgers is the NFL leader in passer rating. He is expected to play about a half on Thursday, in keeping with third-game-of-preseason tradition, before yielding to backup Matt Flynn.

Running back Brandon Jackson also comes off a solid outing against the Seahawks, as Ryan Grant's backup carried 11 times for 80 yards in the contest.

Green Bay has some injury concerns at linebacker, where Nick Barnett (knee), A.J. Hawk (ankle), Brad Jones (shoulder) and Clay Matthews (hamstring) all missed last Saturday's game and are question marks for the Indianapolis game.

The Colts, meanwhile, will come into Thursday's contest seeking something that has been most-elusive for their franchise - a preseason win. Last Thursday's 34-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Toronto dropped Indy to 4-20 in warm-up games since 2005, and a loss to Green Bay would guarantee a sixth consecutive losing preseason. Indianapolis hasn't missed the playoffs since 2001, however, so another defeat would probably not incite panic in Hoosier country.

Quarterback Peyton Manning, who should play the first half on Thursday, was 8- of-15 for 91 yards, including an interception and a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Tamme, against the Bills. A 17-yard TD run for Joseph Addai was another of the offensive highlights for Indy.

The attack should get a boost on Thursday, as wideout Pierre Garcon, who has missed the first two preseason games with an undisclosed injury, is expected to suit up.

Elsewhere on the injury front for Indianapolis, tight end Dallas Clark (left leg), center Jeff Saturday (knee) and cornerback Jerraud Powers (foot) are not expected to participate against the Packers.