David Blough: 'It’s Frustrating When You Can’t Lead Team to Victory'

Read more on David Blough's comments regarding his performance in the Detroit Lions' preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts.

After putting forth a solid effort in Detroit’s second preseason game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lions quarterback David Blough looked as though he may have the upper hand in the battle for the team's backup quarterback position. 

However, it was Tim Boyle who started the preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts. 

Regardless, Blough didn't have to wait long to get his chance. Boyle played just two series, one of which ended in a 15-yard touchdown strike to Quintez Cephus.

Boyle left the game with an injury, which was suffered after he hit his hand during a strip-sack on his first possession. He stayed in the game for another series, leading the team to a touchdown, and then was pulled for Blough. 

“First and foremost, just thankful for Tim,” Blough said after the game. “Thankful for getting to be around him and getting to learn from him.”

The former Purdue Boilermakers signal-caller entered on Detroit’s third possession of the game. His first series ended in a punt, though he was hurt by a pair of drops by Breshad Perriman. Although he entered the game earlier than he may have expected to, Blough was ready for the chance to get in. 

“Sometimes, you’ve got opportunities, and you’ve got to go out there and lead the team,” Blough said. “If I thought it was gonna be in the second half, it was just a little bit earlier.”

Blough led a touchdown drive on his second possession, a drive lasting 14 plays that took nearly 7:00 off the clock. On the drive, he completed four passes, before Godwin Igwebuike finished off the drive with a one-yard score. 

After a kneel-down ended the first half, Blough led a field-goal drive, after cornerback Corn Elder picked off a pass, setting the offense up with a short field. That possession ended up being the last one that Detroit scored on.  

“We got points, and then, we didn’t finish as well as we would’ve liked to,” Blough said. “It’s frustrating. As the leader of the offense, it’s frustrating when you can’t lead the team to victory. I think a lot to see, a lot to grow, a lot to learn and a lot to improve on.” 

Junfu Han, Imagn Content Services, LLC

Blough and the offense went three-and-out on the next possession, which was followed by an Indianapolis touchdown drive. Things didn’t get any better on the next series, as Blough was picked off by Colts linebacker Curtis Bolton. 

“I can’t (throw the interception),” Blough said. “I put our team in a compromised position in a tied ballgame. Man, I just can’t turn the ball over. I’ve got to throw it away or keep working through my progression. My feet were bad, I got a bit uncomfortable, and I tried to force something.”

Following the interception, Indianapolis took the lead on a field goal. After Detroit punted, the Colts added a touchdown to go up by 10. 

A late drive from Blough & Co. then came up short, as the third-year quarterback took two sacks. 

The Lions subsequently turned the ball over on downs, sealing their fate. Detroit fell, 27-17, and Blough finished 13-for-21 for 117 yards and an interception. 

With this being his third slate of preseason games, Blough said he was focusing on adding new skills.

“You just add things to your toolbelt,” Blough said. “As a quarterback, you add new things, and I know I’m better than I was last year and I’m way better than I was as a rookie. And, you just keep progressing. You keep taking steps in the right direction.” 

Blough is also working with an almost entirely new wide receiving corps. Over the course of minicamp and training camp, he’s been working on becoming more comfortable with his receiving options. 

“Those guys, you learn ‘em,” Blough said. “You learn how they move and exactly what they do and what they’re thinking, and you try to get better, because they’re learning everything on the fly. And going into my third year, I haven’t been around that long, but you learn a lot from your receivers who have done it in the past and you try to build the connections with what you’ve seen.”

Blough finished his 2021 preseason 30-for-44 for 336 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

Heading into the last stretch before the regular season, he's excited, but knows the offense has work to do before Detroit's regular season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. 

“I’m excited, man, I really am,” Blough said. “You love exactly where you’re at as an offense. And, you see the potential, the things you can do. The things you see that you can explore and experiment with. I’m excited about what’s going forward, and we’ve got a lot of work to do before San Francisco comes to town and we get ready to play at our best.” 

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