Texans rookie QB Davis Mills seeks to build upon big game against the Patriots

HOUSTON — Sunday afternoon, Mac Jones departed NRG Stadium with his second career victory as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. The former Alabama product led the Patriots to a 25-22 comeback win over the Houston Texans.

Jones put on a solid outing throwing for 231 yards with one touchdown and an interception in the win, but lost the head-to-head battle against his draft mate Davis Mills. And for the second time in three weeks, Mills’ performance eclipsed the rest of his quarterback peers from the 2021 NFL draft.

Of the six rookie quarterbacks who started Week 5 of the regular season, Mills threw for a league-best 312 yards with three touchdowns — bouncing back considerably from his atrocious outing against the Buffalo Bills the week prior.

Even more impressive, Mills’ 141.7 passer rating was the highest registered by a rookie quarterback this season.

“I thought I played well, but I had a couple of plays I could have managed the protection a little better,” Mills said during his postgame press conference. “I felt the team as a whole played well. A couple of plays here and there that we’d like back. But I thought overall it was a big improvement from last week.”

The most significant improvement Mills made to his game against the Patriots came by not committing a turnover.

For the first time in his young NFL career, Mills finished the game without throwing an interception — a major point of emphasis from first-year coach David Culley.

In the days leading up to the Texans’ match against the Patriots, Culley held several one-on-one discussions with Mills to help his rookie quarterback. Mills said during film review he noticed that forcing throws ensued in him committing five turnovers in the game against the Bills — a blunder he was determined not to replicate versus New England.

As Houston’s starter under center, Mills acknowledged that protecting the football is his biggest job while facilitating to his teammates.

“Going into the game, that was the most important thing for him,” Culley said. “He just did what our game plan was. It was to keep him comfortable, and once he got comfortable, we got in a good flow offensively. He executed our offense perfectly for the first three drives we had.”

When Mills took over for the injured Tyrod Taylor during a Week 2 loss against the Cleveland Browns, the Texans did not consider the possibility of signing an additional quarterback. Instead, Taylor’s absence allowed the organization to evaluate its 67th overall draft pick.

After three weeks on injured reserve, Taylor is eligible to return to the Texans’ active roster. However, Culley announced Monday morning that there is no timetable for Taylor’s return as he continues to recover from a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Taylor’s continuous absence will open the door for Mills to obtain his fourth consecutive start on Sunday when the Texans face-off against their AFC South counterparts, the Indianapolis Colts.

And if he can sustain his high-level of play following the events at Lucas Oil Stadium, there is a growing sense that Mills could remain the Texans starting quarterback when Taylor returns from injury.

“For us to have a chance to win every week, that’s how he has to play,” Culley said. “We had conversations all week about, ‘Look don’t worry about what’s happened in the past. We’re going to have a game plan right here that’s very good and solid for you.'”

“I thought on the fourth downs with him, when we made those throws, that gave us so much more confidence on our offense knowing this guy can get it done for us.”

Excluding his performance in Buffalo, Mills has thrown for 582 yards while completing 64 percent of his passes, to go along with five touchdowns and one interception since taking over for Taylor in Cleveland.