Indianapolis — With Week 2 of the Detroit Lions’ preseason slate in the books, we’re a little bit closer to meaningful football.
But after a week of joint practices and Detroit’s 27-26 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, one thing we’re not much closer to is getting a read on where David Blough and Tim Boyle stand in a battle to become the team’s backup quarterback.
Blough played the first half Saturday and Boyle the second. Both managed the game well and led multiple scoring drives. Blough tied the game at 13 with a 12-play, 54-yard touchdown drive before halftime and Boyle carried the team to the winning touchdown with an 18-play, 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter.
Boyle was certainly more efficient — and protected the ball better — but neither of them broke triple digits in passing yards, so it’s hard to describe either of their performances as “standout,” even if Lions coach Dan Campbell said “they both did a great job.”
“(Blough) driving us down the field at the half and coming away with that touchdown was big,” Campbell said. “I thought Tim Boyle had a good half, too. You know, I thought he moved the ball. … When called upon, he stepped up and made some plays.”
Blough was 16-for-22 passing with 76 yards, a touchdown, an interception and a passer rating of 73.3. He also fumbled a handoff exchange with running back Justin Jackson, which Jackson himself recovered. Boyle went 12-for-15 passing for 99 yards, a touchdown, no turnovers and a passer rating of 116.4.
“I tried to force it in there (on the interception) and should have just progressed on and got unlucky with the bounce. They made a good play,” Blough said. “As a quarterback, you’ve gotta take care of the football. A lot of that is how we’re evaluated. So, I gotta clean that up moving forward.”
However, the offense also didn’t punt during Blough’s time under center. It went three-and-out twice with Boyle — but to Campbell’s point, “those breakdowns were in other areas.”
Blough has been the better quarterback in practice this offseason, including during joint practices against the Colts, but has made big mistakes in both preseason games. With the Lions looking to close out a win against the Falcons last week, Blough fumbled to open the door for a late Atlanta comeback.
Boyle hasn’t been perfect — he threw an inexcusable interception on a jump pass against the Falcons — and overall could be described as a higher-risk, higher-reward type of player.
There’s one preseason game left before the Lions make their final cuts. While they kept both backups in 2021, a number of intense position battles are making it harder to believe that the team can justify keeping both this season, especially when neither of them have proven able to replicate the production of Jared Goff.
Ultimately, unless Blough or Boyle is able to blow the roof off during the preseason finale, the choice between them is going to come down to a matter of style preference. And with the way they’ve been deployed so far, it is anybody’s guess as to what that preference is.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi