Lions vs. Browns NFL injury report, spread, odds: Tim Boyle could make NFL first start Sunday for Detroit with Jared Goff injury; betting total dropping

If one looks at the depth chart of the winless Detroit Lions, Jared Goff is of course the starting quarterback with David Blough as the No. 2 and Tim Boyle as the third stringer. However, if Goff can't play Sunday in Cleveland with an oblique injury – a very real possibility – the virtual unknown Boyle is expected to start over Blough. The Lions are currently +10 at Caesars Sportsbook, while the total has sunk from an open of 46 to 43.5. 

Goff, the former No. 1 overall pick acquired in the Matthew Stafford trade, has been pretty awful this season in completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,109 yards, eight touchdowns, six picks and a rating of 84.0. His QBR is an NFL-worst 27.3. Goff clearly not the long-term answer in Detroit, which is all but a lock to draft a QB early in the 2022 draft (but probably not first overall if the Lions get that pick).

Coach Dan Campbell continues to insist that Goff is the starter if healthy, but he suffered the oblique injury in overtime of in last week's 16-16 tie in Pittsburgh. Thanks to that tie, the Lions are assured of not becoming the first team ever to finish 0-17 but could become the first franchise to have two 16-loss seasons (0-16-1) to go with the 0-16 club in 2008.

Boyle is technically on injured reserve after breaking his thumb in the preseason and needing surgery but can be activated at anytime and will take first-team reps at practice today. The Lions signed Boyle in free agency this offseason to a one-year, $2.5 million contract. He spent the previous three years with the Green Bay Packers after going undrafted out of Eastern Kentucky in 2018. Boyle started his NCAA career at UConn before transferring.

The 27-year-old has attempted four NFL regular-season passes, all in 2019, and completed three for 15 yards. This preseason, he was 22-for-39 for 135 yards, a TD and no picks, good for a rating of 72.1

This is a curious decision (tanking?) because Blough has five starts in his career, losing all of them in 2019 with Detroit. The 26-year-old did have a strong 2021 preseason, completing 68.2 percent of his throws for 336 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a rating of 88.8.

Perhaps Boyle can't be any worse than Goff, who is 0-15-1 SU in his career without Sean McVay as his head coach. Detroit also has scored fewer than 20 points in eight straight games -- no other team has a streak longer than three this season. 

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