Kizer vs. Boyle quarterback battle moves to Baltimore

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will start Thursday night’s preseason game at Baltimore. He is expected to play about a quarter.

“Just kind of dependent on how we perform out there. That’s the plan going into it,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday.

From there, the backup battle will continue between DeShone Kizer and Tim Boyle.

Kizer started last week’s game against Houston. He was relatively sharp, going 8-of-13 for 102 yards with one touchdown, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 111.7. The most important number was that zero. As a rookie starter with Cleveland in 2017, Kizer threw a league-worst 22 interceptions. That’s the most interceptions by any quarterback over the last five seasons. He threw two more interceptions in 42 attempts with the Packers last season. Among all quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts the last two seasons, his 4.63 interception percentage is by far the worst. Against the Texans on Thursday, however, he didn’t get close to making one of those blunders.

“Before you win the game, you can’t lose it, right?” general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Tuesday. “I think that’s the biggest thing – can you manage the game and keep your chances alive? I think both those guys, Tim and DeShone, did a nice job in the game. Again, it’s kind of stacking successes, right? That was a good first start and kind of see what they do. Every day is another day. We’re just looking for consistency. Who can we rely on? Who can be dependable? Not only the quarterback spot, but all the positions.”

Boyle played the third quarter. He didn’t get many opportunities but he maximized the ones he had, going 3-of-5 for 40 yards and two touchdowns. The second touchdown was a 27-yard gem to Allen Lazard.

“I thought in the Houston game – and I think you’ve seen it in practices sometimes – I think he’s letting loose a little more,” Gutekunst said. “Hitting that back foot and letting the ball go, trusting what he sees. I think you see a lot of quarterbacks, that’s their development when they get to that point. I thought he did some really good things in that first game.”

The game at Baltimore will be the next big step in a back-and-forth battle in which both quarterbacks have struggled to string together a series of good periods in practice, let alone a series of good practices. The Ravens destroyed the Jaguars 29-0 in last week’s preseason opener. Baltimore defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale had his guys in attack mode, which translated to allowing 112 total yards and 44 net passing yards. If they’re in attack mode again, it could mean a challenging evening as Kizer and Boyle perform behind second- and third-string offensive linemen.

“I think what we’ll face against Baltimore will be a little more complex from a blitz package if they do the same things they did in the first game,” Gutekunst said.

Last year, Gutekunst kept both quarterbacks on the roster for the entire season. There’s no guarantee he does that again, though. That means added pressure on the quarterbacks.

“I think it’ll come down to Matt and I’s thought process on do we think there’s a future here to develop them and how it compares to other spots on the team,” he said of conversations with LaFleur. “We’re not trying to take the 53 best players. We’re trying to take the 53 best that make the best team. Obviously, as we go through each position and stack it, but then you start going across the board – is the third quarterback compared to the fourth tight end compared to fourth running back? Those conversations will probably start to happen the week prior to (the preseason finale against) Kansas City and seeing how things are shaping up. I think it’s our responsibility, and we’re going to do our very, very best to get the right guys in that room to make the best team, not necessarily just the best 53 players.”