The night was going great for the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback Davis Mills.
Defensive end Jonathan Greenard strip-sacked Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson fell on the loose ball. Houston had first-and-10 at the Packers’ 17-yard line.
On the ensuing play, Mills threw an interception, giving the ball right back to Green Bay with 39 seconds left in the first half. The third-rounder from Stanford was 10-of-19 for 100 yards to that point.
Davis had two more drives and finished 11-of-22 for 112 yards and the interception.
“For him, something bad happens, he comes back, and he’s got that next-play mentality,” coach David Culley said. “I think he held up very well from the start to the finish when he was in there. He did things that we are trying to get him to do and things weren’t right, the positive thing about him is that he just comes back and those things don’t bother him.”
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who started the game and went 4-4 for 40 yards in the game, also saw aspects to Mills’ game that were favorable.
“I think he went out there and competed,” Taylor said. “He went out there and made some plays in the passing game. I thought he got guys in the right spots for the running game too. Something to build from.”
Taylor says that the quarterback group as a whole needs to find a way to improve over the next week as they gear up for their second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 21 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“There are always ways to improve and we will find those ways to correct and improve as a group,” said Taylor. “He will individually and I will individually as well as Jeff (Driskel).”
Driskel completed one pass on six attempts for two yards, and rushed five times for 16 yards.