HOUSTON – Davis Mills calmly delivered the football as he just kept throwing and patiently read the defense despite an ice-cold start.
Mills’ trademark stoic demeanor served him well Thursday night, just as that low-key approach did during his other two starts this season as the replacement for injured starter C.J. Stroud.
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It was Mills on the winning side again, improving to 3-0 as he helped the Texans engineer a 23-19 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills. After beginning the game 1 for 8 for 10 yards during a frustrating first quarter filled with misfired overthrows from Mills and dropped passes, he heated up. He completed 10 of 13 throws for 112 yards and two touchdown passes to Jayden Higgins and Christian Kirk and finished the game 16 of 30 for 153 yards and a 90.0 passer rating.
Now, the football goes back to Stroud, who missed the last three games with a concussion. Stroud will take over as the starter again next week against the AFC South leading Indianapolis Colts. There is no competition, or controversy.
“In my current situation I don’t think there is a competition,” Mills said. “C.J. is the starter for this team. I’m just doing everything I can to bring my best foot forward every day, make everyone else around me better and try to provide and play my role to my best ability when I get thrown in there.
“He was coming over to me and giving me pointers if he saw something throughout the game when I was coming back to the bench. Extremely supportive, definitely ready to be back. He wants to get back, you can tell he’s itching to get back out there on the field, but he was great all night.”
Stroud was on the sidelines, encouraging his teammates along with Mills.
The former Pro Bowl selection and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year returned to practice Tuesday and is now on track to be the starter again.
“C.J., it was great to see him back out there,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He was back at practice. Just to see him back around the guys with a huge smile on his face, him feeling well, that’s the most important thing.
“When our guys are in the concussion protocol, I want to make sure they’re healthy and they’re well. That’s the one thing I’m most happy to see. He’s well, he’s himself and ready to get back to football.”
The offense hit a wall in the second half, but still won the game behind a ferocious defensive effort with eight sacks and two interceptions against reigning NFL Most Valuable Player quarterback Josh Allen.
Mills didn’t turn the football over and wasn’t sacked during the big win as the offensive line did a great job of protecting him. At times, it was as if Mills had all night to identify his targets downfield. Although he’s not an outwardly emotional person, Mills enjoyed the luxury of extra time.
“Yes, I get excited,” Mills said. “A lot of times I just don’t show it. I’m focused on my job in the moment. It’s kind of hard to display all my emotions. Taking zero sacks, I can assure you that my body feels drastically better than it has in some other games and in my football playing history.
“‘Those guys did a hell of a job tonight protecting and I was able to find people open or get the ball out if I needed to early on. I think our offensive has shown to get better each and every week. I think those guys will keep progressing as we keep going forward.”
After missing some throws, including a deep ball to tight end Dalton Schultz and a throw perhaps delivered with too much heat to Kirk in the end zone, Mills got into a groove in the second quarter.
There were 24-yard and 19-yard strikes to Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins. He found Kirk on a 33-yard play that led up to his touchdown to Higgins, a rookie drafted in the second round out of Iowa State.
The entire offense, including Mills stalled out after halftime. He went 5 of 9 for 31 yards and no scores but he took care of the football. His second touchdown proved to be the game-winner.
Mills did everything the Texans could hope for as the stand-in for Stroud. He engineered comeback victories over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. He ran for the game-winning touchdown on a scramble against the Jaguars. He set up the game-winning field goal against the Titans with a long drive that included a clutch 3rd-and-16 pass to Collins to keep the offense rolling.
“Davis has been phenomenal for us these past couple of weeks,” Ryans said. “Coming in, especially on a short week, not getting a ton of full-speed reps, the timing of throwing the football is affected a little bit.
“I thought he weathered the storm and he handled himself well. Even though we had some passes there we would have liked to connect on, he still stayed steady, still stayed calm as he always does, keeping everybody calm on the sideline.”
Mills did his job in exemplary fashion.
The former third-round draft pick from Stanford, a starter until Stroud arrived, has completed 58.9 percent of his throws for 856 yards, five touchdowns and one interception for an 84.2 passer rating. He passed for 292 yards and 274 yards against the Jaguars and Titans.
“It’s been great,” Mills said. “I don’t know if I want to reflect too much on it middle of the season. We got a long road ahead of us if we want to do what we’re capable of and what we’re planning to do. Just grateful for the opportunity.
“I come into work every day, love my teammates, love my coaches and it’s fun to get back out there on the field and do what you love. I’ve been dreaming of being in this situation since I started football when I was six years old. Every day I’m just living out that childhood dream and going out there and having fun with it.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com