Kizer, Boyle keep quarterback battle going strong

The battle to be the Green Bay Packers’ backup quarterback wasn’t settled during OTAs or the first 11 practices of training camp.

And it wasn’t settled in Thursday night’s preseason opener.

DeShone Kizer and Tim Boyle, who have split the No. 2 reps at practice throughout training camp, turned in solid performances in leading the Packers to a 28-26 victory over the Houston Texans.

Kizer, who played poorly in two appearances as the backup last season, played the entire first half. He went 8-of-13 for 102 yards, including a touchdown pass to rookie Darrius Shepherd.

“I think you need a good night every night,” Kizer said. “This league is about what you put on tape. Every rep you get, it’s making sure it’s the best one that really shows exactly who you are. This was an opportunity for me to show what I’ve gained in this offseason in terms of my balance and being able to throw with the ball some consistency and accuracy. I was able to show that a couple times this evening. Now, it’s about building on that and showing the consistency that’s needed to be a starter in this league again.”

This is a hugely critical training camp for Kizer, who went 0-15 as a rookie starter for the Browns in 2017 before being acquired by the Packers in February 2018. Of quarterbacks with at least 300 passing attempts the past two seasons, Kizer was by far the worst statistical quarterback in the NFL. At some point, no matter how strong the skill-set, a quarterback runs out of opportunities to be considered a legit prospect. That’s a harsh reality Kizer understands, which is why he spent the offseason working with renowned quarterback gurus Tom House and John Beck at 3DQB in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Thursday’s outing was a highlight of what’s been an up and down couple weeks of camp.

“I think the next step for me is making sure I can consistently be a guy that they know exactly what they’re going to get when I step out on the field,” he said. “I’ve had quite a few outings in a short career so far, and within that we’ve seen a couple of different guys. We’ve seen a guy who’s run a bunch, we’ve seen a guy who’s turned the ball over a bunch, we’ve seen a guy who throws a bunch of a checkdowns and has a high completion percentage in certain games. It’s about making sure that I can consistently show exactly what I want to show, and that’s a guy who’s going to keep the ball out of harm’s way, keep the chains moving forward and end each drive with a kick.”

Boyle, the strong-armed second-year quarterback who won a roster spot as an undrafted free agent last summer, played the third quarter. He threw only five passes – two of those went for touchdowns.

“When our media guy told us the stat line, 3-for-5 with two touchdowns and 40 yards,” Boyle said, “40 percent of my passes were touchdowns today. It’s kind of funny but when things are clicking like that, it’s fun to go out there.”

Boyle’s first possession started at the Texans’ 3. After J’Mon Moore dropped a touchdown pass, Boyle went back to him on third-and-goal from the 1 for a touchdown. Later, Boyle picked up a 40-yard gain with a pass-interference call on a deep ball to Allen Lazard. Moments later, Boyle threw a 27-yard touchdown pass in which he gave the 6-foot-5 Lazard an opportunity to use his size to his advantage.

Undrafted rookie Manny Wilkins finished the game and didn’t help his bid to make a roster spot whatsoever. He went 0-for-3. First, he barely overthrew rookie receiver Malik Taylor for a potential big gain. Second, he missed running back Darrin Hall, who was open over the middle. Finally, Hall dropped a screen.

“More than anything else was the command. That’s what we were looking for,” coach Matt LaFleur said of his quarterbacks. “I thought they commanded the huddle. It seemed to me that the communication was on point. We didn’t have any delay of games. I thought we got up to the line, just like I’ve been talking about with urgency, and I just thought the operation was clean. They did a nice job executing when the plays were there.”