Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was pretty impressed with Davis Mills’ initial action in the NFL.
In the 31-21 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 at FirstEnergy Stadium, Mills relieved injured starter Tyrod Taylor at halftime. Mills completed eight passes on 18 attempts for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Kelly believes that aside from the opening drive, where the Texans went three-and-out, Mills was comfortable under center.
“Other than the first drive, I don’t think he was really that uncomfortable on Sunday, and that’s probably to be expected for a guy that’s come in,” Kelly said. “That’s not an easy place to play, and the situation was tough being backed up like we were. So, I thought he did a good job of settling down, and really, he put us in a spot to make it a one-score game with just over two to go.”
While Mills may have done a good job against the Browns in his first action in the NFL, the former Stanford product will have to step up his game for his first official start against the 2-0 Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football at NRG Stadium.
“There’s some things that we need to clean up and I need to clean up, but hopefully, with him getting these reps he’s feeling more comfortable, if you want to say that, moving forward,” said Kelly.
Mills will be the fifth rookie quarterback to start for the Texans and the 18th overall. The last Texans rookie to make his debut in primetime was Deshaun Watson in 2017 in a Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.