The Houston Texans made it known Wednesday they were going to go with Davis Mills as their starting quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys.
However, the Texans deployed a unique strategy under center in the 27-23 loss to the Cowboys Sunday afternoon during Week 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Texans used backup Jeff Driskel for a total of 13 snaps as the dual threat quarterback completed 4-6 for 38 yards and a touchdown while also rushing seven times for 36 yards.
Coach Lovie Smith told reporters after the game that the move was made to provide a “spark” and that there were plans to have Driskel see significant time during their prep work early in the week.
“I thought Davis did some good change passing the football, made some good throws today,” Smith said. “Made some good decisions today. I liked things he did. And the combination with Jeff Driskel. Early in the week we decided to go with this plan to use Jeff. I thought he did some good things, too.”
Driskel, who was a standard elevation from the practice squad the day before, was pleased to have an impact on offense.
“That was something that we worked on all week,” Driskel said. “A nice little package for me in there. I was excited to get out there and help the team win and obviously it was not what we wanted to do at the end of the game.”
The Texans were facing a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with 3:25 to go in the game, Houston leading 23-20. Driskel kept the ball on the run-pass option and rushed for a 1-yard gain, but caused a turnover on downs. The Cowboys drove 98 yards to score the go-ahead touchdown and ultimately prevail 27-23.
“We’ve just got to execute a few more times and punch the ball in the end zone,” said Driskel. “But it was good to get back in the game.”