For fans of the Houston Texans, the Davis Mills experience thus far has been an absolute roller coaster. The rookie quarterback from Stanford had a rude introduction to the NFL last week during his second career start against the Buffalo Bills.
Mills finished that contest 11-of-21 with only 87 passing yards, four interceptions, and no scores in what was one of the most humiliating games in franchise history, a 40-0 loss. The week previous had shown a relatively even performance in a 24-9 loss against the Carolina Panthers where the coaching staff didn’t ask much of him,
With the extreme downs of his season so far, the rookie was due for a big performance on the other side of the volatility spectrum. That performance finally came against the New England Patriots.
For a team known historically for dominating rookie quarterbacks (look no further than Zach Wilson’s 4 interception performance against the Pats in Week 2) Mills more than held his own against Bill Belichik in a 25-22 loss against New England.
Mills finished 21-of-29 for 312 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers and showed great poise in executing what was a brilliantly called game by offensive coordinator Tim Kelly. He still showed a few rookie mistakes, holding the ball for long periods of time and taking a few unnecessary sacks,. However, the flashes of talent far out-shadowed any negatives.
There were excellent deep balls to Chris Conley and Chris Moore with everyone doing their part to help the rookie quarterback.
Chris Conley huge fourth-and-2 catch, takes it to goal-to-go at the two-minute warning pic.twitter.com/sARUlY1LKu
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) October 10, 2021
Mills showed an ability to drive the ball down the field and protect the football far more than either of his two previous contests. While no Deshaun Watson in the mobility department, Mills used his legs to extend plays and buy time for his receivers to get open.
The outcome for Houston was unfortunately a loss but, unlike last week against Buffalo, none of the fault should be placed on the rookie. Special teams, questionable coaching decisions, and a horrendous kicking game made winning virtually impossible for the Texans.
A conservative game plan after going up 22-9 played a big part in why Mills slowed down in the second half and why the Texans ultimately couldn’t steal a win as big underdogs against New England.
A disappointing loss for Houston fans should not overshadow what was far and away the most encouraging performance from their rookie quarterback thus far this season. In a season that is likely to be full of losses, Mills’ develop is far and away the most important thing happening for the Texans in 2021.
Week 5 was a step in the right direction. Hopefully that positive momentum continues next week against the Indianapolis Colts.