Fully recovered from injury troubles that caused him to miss much of the season, Portland Thunder quarterback Kyle Rowley prepares to lead his new-look team into Saturday's key home game against the Los Angeles KISS.

With three games remaining in the regular season, Portland leads Los Angeles by one win for the final playoff spot in the National Conference. Los Angeles (3-12) has defeated Portland twice already, including a 69-61 game on June 14 that was Rowley's return after a seven-week absence following MCL surgery.

“I’m 10 weeks out of surgery now,” Rowley said. “It was very tight the first two games, but it was good enough for me to drop back and throw. Now I’m starting to get to the point where it’s not even a factor in my head, so I’m feeling very comfortable.”

Portland’s receiving corps will be different from past weeks with the loss of top receiver Eric Rogers, who was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL on Monday. In only nine games for the Thunder, Rogers caught 73 passes for 903 yards and 27 touchdowns. But Rowley believes the loss of Rogers can be offset by the return of two key receivers: Douglas McNeil III, who was activated from injured reserve in time to catch two touchdown passes last week against the Cleveland Gladiators, and Duane Brooks, who had 45 receptions in nine games to start the season and is used as a kick returner.

This week the Thunder also added linebacker Marquis Jackson, who last played at Portland State, and Okechukwu Okoroha, a defensive back out of Marshall University.

“We’ve had a little turnover in the last two weeks," Rowley said. “Doug’s a great receiver so it’s good to have him back because Eric was a big loss. [Brooks] looks sharp. He looks fresh. I kind of forgot how fast he is.”

Jamar Howard has emerged as a favorite target of Rowley. In the Thunder’s 61-40 loss to Cleveland, Howard had eight catches for 161 yards. Rowley threw for 297 yards, with five touchdowns and four interceptions, in a game that saw Cleveland pull away late in the third quarter.

“We made critical errors in the first quarter, and when that happens it forces errors deeper into the game as well because you’re playing with your back's against the wall. We just need to start faster than that.”

Since joining the Thunder, Rowley has thrown 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

“We had a slow start to the season,” Rowley said. “When I got here, we were really in a hole, so we’ve been digging out that this whole time.”

“We’re used to pressure filled games so this isn’t anything too new to us. Every week’s been the biggest game of the season for us, and that’s good, you know, that might help us when the playoff time does come because we’re used to playing under pressure.”

--Lars Steier, special to The Oregonian