The Houston Texans had a big shift at quarterback hit them at halftime of their Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor had injured his hamstring. The former Browns quarterback was 10-of-11 for 125 and a touchdown along with rushing for a 15-yard score against his old team. The Texans were gridlocked with the Browns 14-14 at the break.
Houston would get the ball first, but rookie quarterback Davis Mills was leading the offense, not Taylor, who was out for the rest of the game.
According to Mills, he found out he would be leading the offense during the break. The third-rounder from Stanford was as ready as he could be.
“As the backup quarterback or the guy that is next up, you always have to be ready for anything to happen,” Mills said. “Even in preseason, at any moment, you mentally prepare yourself to go in there on the next play. I felt like I did a good job and came out. I can improve on some stuff. A lot to learn from, but overall, I didn’t think I was too rattled or wasn’t ready for the moment.”
Mills went 8-of-18 for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He led the longest drive of the game, plays wise at least, going 63 yards in 16 plays. Mills capped off the drive with a 2-yard slant to receiver Brandin Cooks.
The rookie could see extended action against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football Sept. 23. The Texans are coming off of a short week, and Taylor may not be ready to go against the inter-conference same place finisher.