Eight years ago, Tim Boyle started his first game in college. Two teams, five years and 26 interceptions later, he entered the NFL. And when the Lions visit the Browns on Sunday, Boyle is poised to start his first game in the pros.
“Opportunities in the NFL come very few times, unfortunately. But that’s the beauty of the NFL,” Boyle said Friday. “It’s so competitive. It’s been a long journey. Just reminiscing on my story of starting football when I was six years old, and here I am as a 27-year-old.”
In a way, Boyle’s timing was perfect. He signed with the Lions to back up Jared Goff after backing up Aaron Rodgers for three years in Green Bay, only to break his thumb in a “freak accident” in the preseason. He returned to practice last week just before Goff injured his oblique in Detroit’s tie to the Steelers. Goff (doubtful) won’t be able to play Sunday in Cleveland. Boyle will be.
The change under center might do the Lions some good. Their passing attack can’t possibly be worse than it was last Sunday when Goff threw for 54 total yards through four quarters, or during the first nine games of the season when Goff averaged an NFC-worst 6.3 yards per attempt. Born and raised a Patriots fan in Connecticut, Boyle dons No. 12 for You Know Who. He's Detroit's best version of TB12.
"Not that I’m ever comparing myself to Tom Brady,” Boyle said with a laugh. “But I’ve always loved 12. Being a Tom Brady fan from Connecticut and then going to Green Bay and being around (another) 12 – just a good QB number.”
Otherwise, Boyle’s QB numbers are bad. Epically bad. Almost hilariously bad. It’s a marvel that he ever made it to the NFL given his college career, and a testament to something he’s yet to unveil. Arm strength? Pocket presence? (Incriminating photos of his coaches?) Boyle threw one touchdown and 13 interceptions – with negative 122 rushing yards – in three seasons at UConn, then transferred to Eastern Kentucky for one season and threw 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions – with negative 40 rushing yards. He finished college with a resume that warranted a desk job.
Somehow, he landed a deal with the Green Bay Packers.
“I think the No. 1 thing, and this is what’s carried me for life, is just believing in myself and not relying on external factors to build my confidence,” Boyle said. “Always having that steady confidence about my game and what I can do on the field. Persevering and thinking positive. Good things happen to good people who work hard – I’ve always told myself that. I feel like I’m a good person. I try to spread kindness, love and do my thing.”
In Green Bay, Boyle became the image of a win. He was the quarterback the Packers put in the game to run out the clock, a victory formation in the flesh. He had negative rushing yards in college because he was sacked too many times to count. He had negative 16 rushing yards in 11 games with the Packers because all he had to do was take a few knees. The fans at Lambeau have seen their share of legendary quarterbacks. Boyle was their cult hero.
A hero is needed in Detroit. The Lions are flirting with another winless season, and Goff isn’t the one to save them. “Let me say this about Tim Boyle,” Dan Campbell said Friday. “He lacks zero confidence.” Then Campbell smirked, like Boyle might be dangerous – to the Browns, to the Lions, to himself. Everything about Sunday’s game calls for the Lions to run it. And they will, over and over. But Boyle won’t be bashful when he drops back to throw it. He said he’s not expecting any nerves Saturday night. He said he’ll be “calm.”
“I’ll meditate, I’ll breathe, talk to my family. I’ll study and go to bed. Easy,” he said. “It’s football. I’ve been playing it since I was six. It’s an awesome opportunity, but at the end of the day, I can’t psyche myself out. I gotta go react and play football.”
Maybe the Browns won’t know how to react to Boyle. Maybe he’ll hit a few throws on the first drive, and maybe we’ll start to see what everyone’s been missing. Maybe No. 12 will show us what he’s got, whatever it is that’s bubbling beneath his bad numbers. Who knows. Maybe there’s nothing more to see. But Boyle has lasted four years in the NFL, the first three of them as the understudy to one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. This is his shot to prove why.
“I don’t think I ever envisioned myself starting in the NFL,” Boyle said. “It was always a dream. You don’t really think about it until it happens. But you think about all the ups and downs.”
The ups came early for Boyle, back when he said football was just “a game, a sport.” Back when it was “fun and exciting” in middle school. Back when he was winning state championships in high school, three of them in a row. The downs came next.
“Then it’s college and I struggled,” he said. “It’s confidence, it’s leaning on family, it’s transferring and having an OK season and kind of picking myself up and plugging along. But I’m proud of myself. I’m proud of how I handled my journey.
“When it comes down to it, you gotta be ready when your number’s called. And that’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to be ready.”