The Houston Texans announced in the middle of last week they would start Davis Mills at quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys.
Technically, the Texans did have Mills as their starting quarterback, but he split significant time with backup Jeff Driskel with both signal callers rotating in and out during series.
Aside from an interception thrown on the last play of the 27-23 loss in a Hail Mary attempt, Mills had one of his more efficient games of the season, going 16-21 for 175 yards and not getting sacked once. Driskel went 4-6 through the air for 38 yards and a touchdown while also avoiding sacks.
Coach Lovie Smith was pleased with the production from the uncommon duo.
“Really, as we go back and look at it a little bit, [Driskel] did some good things in the preseason early on,” Smith told reporters after the game. “That plan kind of got us out of it a little bit when we couldn’t elevate him and some things like that, but he’s always been there.
“As you see, the most productive day we’ve had offensively. I know what the points said but we felt like we could move the ball and mix in a combination of the two.”
Driskel provided seven carries for 36 yards. Houston generated 327 yards total offense, their first producing 300 yards total since Week 10.
Should the Texans decide to stay with Mills and Driskel as their quarterbacks, the two have decent off-field cohesion that it shouldn’t disrupt the offense.
“He wants to win the game, I want to win the game,” Driskel said.
According to Driskel, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton puts the Texans in “positions to make plays that best suit our strengths.”
Said Driskel: “We’ve got a great room and we’ve just got to continue to get better.”
Houston falls to 1-11-1 on the year. The Texans are 0-6 in games where they generate 300 yards or more.