GREEN BAY — No one is ready to come out and say it after one preseason game, but given the way rookies Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn played in Monday night's 20-17 exhibition loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Green Bay Packers just might have themselves a full-blown competition for the backup quarterback job behind Aaron Rodgers.

Asked Tuesday if Flynn, a seventh-round pick, could conceivably beat out Brohm, a second-round pick, for the top backup job, general manager Ted Thompson said, "I don't know. Yeah, I suppose he can. Competition's all over this place. You never know how it's going to work out."

Although Packers coach Mike McCarthy cautioned that his team has "played one game," the Packers have used their 3-2-1 setup for distributing repetitions in practice — three for Rodgers, two for Brohm, one for Flynn — throughout camp. When they return to practice Wednesday night at 6:30, Flynn merits some additional snaps after the encouraging performance he had against the Bengals.

"I don't know about that yet," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin replied when asked whether Brohm is the clear-cut No. 2 because of his draft status. "I don't think we've decided who's who yet. That's how they entered the game (Monday night), but I'm not sure we're at that stage with a lot of positions."

While Brohm's first NFL pass was intercepted and he ended up completing eight of 17 passes for 70 yards and a 33.9 passer rating, Flynn went 12 for 21 for 97 yards and a touchdown for a 84.8 rating, highlighted by leading the Packers on a 62-yard, 12-play TD drive in the closing minutes of the game. Flynn had the Packers on the move on their final possession, too, but rookie Kregg Lumpkin fumbled after a completion to allow the Bengals to run out the clock.

"After the first (pass), I knew it could only get better," Brohm said. "Overall, I felt like I did a pretty good job of just the mechanics of the offense. Most of the time I felt like I went to the right place with the ball. Obviously there were a few times when I made mistakes, went to the wrong place, maybe forced one in there on the first play. But after that, I felt pretty good about the way things were going."

While Brohm admitted he "double-clutched" on a late throw to Ruvell Martin that led to Martin absorbing a wicked hit, the only other throw he made that raised eyebrows was his Hail Mary at the end of the half, a 50-yard heave that didn't make it to the goal line.

Flynn, meanwhile, wasn't particularly high on his performance — "As a rookie, first game, it's kind of hard to put a grade on it," he said, adding that he sees more of his mistakes than successes when watching film — and wasn't coming anywhere near a debate about the No. 2 job.

"That's not for me to say," Flynn said. "I'm just going to go out there and play as hard as I can and let the coaches make decisions. I really am here to do what helps the team the most. If that's third-string, then that's going to be my job and I'm going to do that position proudly. I'm going to play it and give it my best and let the coaches make decisions on everything else."

Thompson said he "thought there were some good things in there" for both quarterbacks, enough to solidify his stance that signing a veteran backup won't be necessary.

"You can never say never," Thompson said. "But right this second, we're comfortable with the fellas we have, albeit we're young."

Tough start

Philbin was pulling his hair out — well, he would've been if he had any — at the way the No. 1 offense started.

The very first play was halted when rookie right guard Josh Sitton was called for a false start. Two plays later, Rodgers was sacked when halfback Brandon Jackson blew his assignment on a blitz pickup. And the Packers were forced to punt when Donald Driver bobbled and dropped a Rodgers pass over the middle that would've given the offense a first down.

"We had bad get-off (on the false start). Then two plays later, we give up a sack when we let a guy run free to our quarterback. And then we dropped a ball on third down," Philbin said. "So it was a less than auspicious debut for our 2008 offense, that's for sure. Three bad plays out of four. Rough."

Heads-up play

While the unforgettable image of James Jones' 30-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Monday night will be his helmet popping off from the impact with two Bengals defenders — it was the top play on ESPN's SportsCenter after the game — the spectacular nature of the collision clouded an important fact:

Jones is one strong dude.

"(Losing his helmet) was probably good for national TV, but James Jones is another example of a young player that had an opportunity to play a lot last year and has done a really good job throughout the offseason. I was just very pleased with his play (Monday) night," McCarthy said. "James is a very powerful young man, especially at the receiver position."

Jones admitted he was "rocked" for a moment after the hit — "I was just hoping I was going the right direction," he confessed — and said his neck still hurt after the game. He might not practice tonight.

"I knew I was going to get hit. I didn't know how hard I was going to get hit, but I knew I was going to get hit," Jones said. "I was (ringing) for a minute pretty good. I had a little stinger. But, it was fun. I was just glad I was able to get in the end zone."

Meanwhile, Thompson said of Ruvell Martin, who took a hit to the chin, "We think he's going to be OK."

Action Jackson

Aside from his blown assignment, Jackson filled in admirably for starting halfback Ryan Grant, who is still rounding into football shape after a contract dispute and sat out the game with a tight hamstring.

Jackson, who ran six times for 44 yards, including a nifty 22-yarder when he escaped what appeared to be a sure tackle in the backfield, has looked like a different player compared to last camp, when he inherited the starting job after de facto starter Vernand Morency suffered a bruised knee in the first practice of camp.

"That is the Brandon Jackson that we all know and have watched grow up in front of us," McCarthy said. "I think you'll see more of that as we go forward."

Running backs coach Edgar Bennett reminded everyone that Jackson came out of Nebraska as a true junior, so his rookie NFL season should have been his true senior season. He now looks like a more polished, pro-ready player.

"Everything we thought this kid was capable of being and doing, now you're starting to see more of that," Bennett said. "We saw it last year, but you're seeing it on a more consistent basis. The sky's the limit for him. I believe in him.''