Since the Texans decided to move on from Deshaun Watson before last season, they have had three different starting quarterbacks. Davis Mills has started 21 of the 29 games.
He was benched for Kyle Allen the past two weeks, but Allen was worse than Mills. Allen went 46-of-78 for 416 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in losses to the Dolphins and Browns.
So, Mills returns to the starting lineup this week against the Cowboys, who are 17-point favorites.
“I’m still a very confident player,” Mills said, via Deepi Sidhu of the team website. "[I] didn’t lose any confidence in these two weeks. I’m excited to get out there on Sunday.”
The Texans had a chance to sign a starting quarterback in free agency or pick one in the draft. They didn’t. Instead, they decided to stick with Mills, who started 11 games last season.
They now are on track to have the No. 1 overall selection in 2023, with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young the favorite to end up as the team’s next franchise quarterback.
So, Mills likely is in his final games as the team’s starter.
A year ago, he was much better in his final five starts (nine touchdowns, two interceptions) than he was his first six starts (six touchdowns, seven interceptions). Mills is hoping for the same improvement to close out this season.
“You’re just trying to continue to progress as the season goes, but these last two weeks really allowed me to sit back and kind of start piecing some more things together in my mind of what it takes to be successful out there,” Mills said. “Hopefully, we can fall back to those fundamentals that I’ve been doing my whole life and as Pep’s taught me since I’ve been here in Houston to go out there and play successful football.”
