DANNY ONEIL

Backup QB Trevone Boykin struggles in Seahawks’ final preseason game

Aug 31, 2017, 9:01 PM | Updated: 11:35 pm

Trevone Boykin threw two interceptions and underthrew a potential touchdown in Oakland. (AP)...

Trevone Boykin threw two interceptions and underthrew a potential touchdown in Oakland. (AP)

(AP)

OAKLAND – The job was Trevone Boykin’s to lose.

And that’s exactly what may have happened in Thursday’s preseason finale when the second-year quarterback was picked off twice in the first half and then let a scoring chance fizzle away when he took a sack that prevented a last-second field-goal attempt before halftime.

Austin Davis leads Seahawks’ winning drive

And even as coach Pete Carroll praised his backup after the game, it was clear that an uneven preseason performance has Boykin’s status as Seattle’s backup in doubt.

“He has had a terrific preseason for us, I think, all in all,” Carroll said. “He obviously was stronger in his first two games than his last two.”

Now to be fair, Boykin was much better against the Raiders than he was in the third preseason game against Kansas City when the only one of the six passes that was caught was an interception.

Boykin completed three of the four passes he threw on Seattle’s third possession, and his 34-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Smith gave the Seahawks a 10-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The problem was that Boykin also took a pair of chances, one of which was an especially bad decision.

“He threw the ball behind the guy down by the goal line,” Carroll said, “and he chucked the other one. He just threw it up for grabs, which was really something you don’t see us do very often so we looked down upon that.”

Just as bad was the clock management at the end of the first half.

Seattle got the ball at its own 9 with 1:50 left. The Seahawks had the ball across midfield with 48 seconds left and had first down at the Oakland 36 with 18 seconds left and a timeout remaining. It should have been enough time for Seattle to take three shots at the end zone before a worst-case scenario of settling for a field goal.

“That was a really clear situation,” Carroll said. “We knew exactly what was happening there and really we said, ‘Let’s see if we can handle this one.’”

After two incompletions, Seattle faced third down with 6 seconds left and had a timeout remaining. Boykin scrambled, however, and time ran out.

“We didn’t do that well,” Carroll said.

Boykin finished 13-for-21 passing for 166 yards and Austin Davis played the second half.

Boykin won Seattle’s backup job last season as an undrafted rookie out of TCU. Now the question is whether Boykin was good enough this month to convince the Seahawks to keep him not just ahead of Davis, but the rest of the quarterbacks who will become available on Saturday when NFL teams are required to trim their rosters to 53 players.

Danny and Gallant Show

Danny ONeil

Seahawks Quandre Diggs...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Seahawks have uncertainty with a player ‘holding in,’ but it’s not Quandre Diggs

While Quandre Diggs appears to be the third Seahawks player to "hold-in" during training camp, Danny O'Neil writes that it's Duane Brown whose future is up in the air.

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

AZ Good AZ it Gets

SPONSORED – Phoenix was the place where the rest of the country found out that Seattle fans took their enthusiasm on the road with them. That was 2013. It’s also the place where I discovered how restorative a desert vacation can be. That was 2015. Let’s start with the screaming. That’s what caught everyone’s attention […]

3 years ago

Mariners Jarred Kelenic...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Mariners aren’t handing the spotlight over to Seahawks just yet

This is the time of year that Seattle tends to shift its focus to the gridiron, but the Mariners are still commanding attention.

3 years ago

Seahawks Duane Brown...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: When Seahawks decide not to extend players, they’re rarely wrong

If you think the Seahawks must sign Duane Brown to an extension, when's the last time they opted against re-signing someone and it came back to bite them?

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Oh, LA, LA!

Week 15, Dec. 19: Seattle at Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, 1:25 p.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Maybe it was fitting that the opening act for the first pro-football game I covered in Los Angeles was a rock band I loved as a teenager. There’s no place that makes me think of growing up more than […]

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Star in a Lone Star Adventure

Week 14, Dec. 12: Seattle at Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, 10 a.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Enchiladas and greatness. That’s what I think of in Texas. The enchiladas are pretty straightforward. They’re so delicious at El Tiempo Cantina that it’s hard to take a bite without closing my eyes. There are three locations though the one […]

3 years ago

Backup QB Trevone Boykin struggles in Seahawks’ final preseason game