In the summer of 2011, Peterborough rejected two bids for Boyd from Burnley. He played in the club's first match of the 2011–12 season, playing the whole match as Peterborough secured a 2–1 victory over Crystal Palace on their return to the second tier of English football. Boyd scored his first goal of the new season just three days later, on 9 August 2011, netting a curling free-kick in extra-time in an eventual 4–3 League Cup victory against his former club, Stevenage. This was followed by two further goals away from London Road, in matches against Blackpool and Bristol City respectively. Boyd scored a rare headed goal in Peterborough's 4–3 home victory against Cardiff City in October 2011, a match in which they scored twice late-on to win the match. He added a fifth to his goal tally for the season in a home loss to Barnsley on 3 December, scoring Peterborough's first goal as they came from three goals down to tie the match at three-all, although ultimately went on to lose 4–3. His sixth goal of the campaign came in a 1–0 away win against Nottingham Forest, where Boyd had previously spent time on loan at, netting with a curling effort from 18-yards. He went on to score two further goals during the campaign, taking his end goal tally for the season to eight, making 48 appearances in all competitions as Peterborough consolidated their place in the Championship.