GREEN BAY, Wis. — They trudged into Lambeau Field on Monday night, many still wearing their No. 4 jerseys and shaking their heads about the surreal sense of separation that gripped Green Bay for the past month.

They stood to give new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers a warm reception — only to start grumbling when an early pass was deflected into the hands of a defender. But after that, Rodgers gave skeptical Packers fans a few reasons not to fret about life without Brett.

In his first start as Brett Favre's replacement, Rodgers shrugged off a shaky beginning to deliver a pair of scoring drives and a handful of highlights in a 20-17 preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Rodgers knows it will take much more for fans to embrace him, but it was a good first step.

"I've always felt like we have the best fans in the NFL, and that they would support our team regardless of how they feel about myself, or Brett, or management or whatever," Rodgers said. "But it was a great reception when we took the field."

The Bengals tagged Rodgers for an early interception off a deflection, but he recovered to complete 9 of 15 throws for 117 yards and a touchdown.