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For the fourth consecutive season, the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers will meet in the preseason when they play Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

The Browns are 13-10-0 all-time against the Packers in the preseason and 7-4-0 in games played at Green Bay. The Browns have gone 6-6-0 at home in the series and 3-0 in neutral-site games at Toledo (1950), Akron (1955) and Milwaukee, Wis. (1987).

When the Browns hosted the Packers last August, they earned a 27-17 win over the reigning Super Bowl XLV champions.

Quarterback Colt McCoy completed 9 of 10 attempts for 135 yards and one touchdown, while Seneca Wallace was 11 of 17 for 99 yards. McCoy put the Browns in front when he threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joshua Cribbs at the 8:41 mark of the first quarter.

After trailing the Packers 17-14 at halftime, the Browns scored 13 second-half points in the come-from-behind victory. Kicker Jeff Wolfert converted field goals of 46 and 44 yards and former Browns linebacker Titus Brown returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown.

The last time the Browns and Packers met in Green Bay, Cleveland earned a 27-24, last-second victory on a Phil Dawson field goal as time expired.

As the game unfolds, here are several things to keep an eye on:

Quarterback Brandon Weeden. The Browns’ starting quarterback played the first three series in last Friday’s preseason opener and completed three of nine attempts for 62 yards with an interception and a fumble on a strip sack by Detroit defensive end Willie Young.

Weeden averaged 6.89 yards-per-attempt and had a long pass of 34 yards to fellow rookie wide receiver Travis Benjamin on the team’s third offensive play of the game.

All three of Weeden’s passes went for first downs, including his 12-yarder to wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi and a 16-yard completion to tight end Jordan Cameron.

Running back Montario Hardesty. Hardesty ran for 16 yards, with a long run of seven yards, on four carries last Friday. Hardesty’s 4.0 yards-per-carry average is up from the 3.02 yards-per-rush average he had during the 2011 regular season.

Hardesty has rushed for 266 yards on 88 carries during his two-year career with the Browns.

Wide receiver Travis Benjamin. Benjamin proved to be a threat for the Browns, both on special teams and offense, in the preseason opener. Benjamin gained 46 yards on two receptions, including the 34-yarder from Weeden up the left sideline on the Browns’ opening possession of the preseason.

Benjamin also returned two kickoffs for 55 yards, averaged 27.5 yards over those returns and ran back a long one of 32 yards.

Cameron. The second-year Browns tight end made the start against Detroit in place of veteran Benjamin Watson, who was held out of the game with an injury. Cameron made the most of his opportunity and led the team with 58 yards on two receptions.

Cameron’s long catch of 42 yards set up the Browns’ first score of the 2012 preseason, a 37-yard field goal from Phil Dawson with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter of play.

Defensive back Trevin Wade. Wade made three solo tackles, which tied for the team lead against the Lions. He also broke up a game-high two passes in Detroit and helped the team by serving as the nickel cornerback responsible for defending the opposing wide receivers who line up in the slot.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers completed just two of eight attempts for 16 yards with one interception in the Packers’ preseason opener last weekend in San Diego. He was relieved by Graham Harrell (15 of 27, 135 yards, one touchdown) and B.J. Coleman (four of eight, 36 yards) for the remainder of the game.

Rodgers completed 343 of 502 attempts for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns against six interceptions during the regular season. He led the Packers to a 15-1 record in the regular season, an NFC North Division championship and first-round bye in the postseason.

Wide receiver Randall Cobb. The second-year wide receiver caught four passes for 58 yards and one touchdown during the preseason opener. He also dropped back to return two punts, but was forced to signal for a fair catch on both of the attempts.

Cobb caught 25 passes for 375 yards and one touchdown in 2011. On special teams, Cobb returned 26 punts for 295 yards and had an 80-yard touchdown. He also gained 941 yards on kickoff returns and took one back for a 108-yard score in the 2011 season opener against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.

Linebacker A.J. Hawk. Hawk made three total tackles, including two solo stops and one assist, and also recovered a fumble in the preseason opener last Thursday night.

Hawk was third on the team with 104 total tackles and 31 assists during the 2011 regular season. He registered 1.5 sacks for 14 lost yards and five passes defended last fall. Only Desmond Bishop (142) and Morgan Burnett (107) had more tackles for the Packers than Hawk last season.

The Browns head into Thursday night’s game after opening the 2012 preseason with a 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field last Friday night. The Packers (0-1) open the home portion of their preseason schedule after a 21-13 loss at the San Diego Chargers last Thursday night.

CONNECTIONS

Browns president Mike Holmgren coached the Packers from 1992-98 and led them to a Super Bowl win in the 1996 season. He never had a losing season in Green Bay and was recently inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Gil Haskell, a senior advisor to Holmgren, served as an assistant with the Packers from 1992-97.

Head coach Pat Shurmur is the nephew of former Packers defensive coordinator, the late Fritz Shurmur.

Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron was the Packers’ defensive backs coach from 1986-94. Senior defensive assistant Ray Rhodes was the Packers’ head coach in 1999 and also served as the team’s defensive coordinator from 1992-93.

Strength and conditioning coach Kent Johnston served in the same capacity for the Packers from 1992-98, while linebackers coach Bill Davis was a defensive assistant/defensive line coach for the Packers in 2000. Defensive backs coach Tim Hauck played for the Packers from 1991-94, and senior offensive assistant Nolan Cromwell was Green Bay’s special teams coordinator from 1992-97 and wide receivers coach in 1998.

Running backs coach Gary Brown worked with the Packers in 2006 as part of the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program.

Browns running back Brandon Jackson spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Packers and earned a championship ring with the team in Super Bowl XLV. Tight end Evan Moore was with the Packers in training camp in 2008 and 2009, and defensive lineman Scott Paxson (2006) and offensive lineman Stanley Daniels (2009) both played on Green Bay’s practice squad.

Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas is a native of Brookfield, Wis. He went to Brookfield Central High School and played college football at the University of Wisconsin.

Packers wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett and offensive line coach James Campen played for Holmgren and Haskell.

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was born in Cambridge, Ohio, and later became a safety/linebacker for the University of Mount Union in Alliance. He also served as an assistant coach at Kent State University (1972-74) and Ohio State (1982-83).

Green Bay quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo coached at The University of Akron (2003-04).

Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk (Centerville/Ohio State), tight end Tom Crabtree (Columbus/Miami University), running back Brandon Saine (Piqua/Ohio State), cornerback Otis Merrill (Cleveland/Glenville High School), defensive end Jerel Worthy (Dayton) and multi-time Pro Bowl defensive back Charles Woodson (Fremont/Ross High School) are Ohio natives.

Defensive tackles Daniel Muir (Kent State) and Ryan Pickett (Ohio State) played college football in Ohio.

Packers quarterback Graham Harrell was with the Browns for rookie minicamp in both 2009 and 2010.

MEDIA

Fans can watch Thursday’s game at 8 p.m./ET on local NBC affiliate WKYC-TV 3.

The game is also available along the PNC Bank Cleveland Browns Radio Network with Mike Snyder, Doug Dieken, and Jamir Howerton on the call. All radio broadcasts will be streamed live at ClevelandBrowns.com.

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