Davis Mills hasn’t started a game yet, but he has shown enough to his Houston Texans teammates for them to believe in him when he does.
The Texans will start Mills Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 at NRG Stadium. The third-rounder from Stanford will be the fifth rookie signal caller to start for Houston and the 18th different quarterback to make a start in franchise history.
Left guard Tytus Howard has confidence in the rookie.
“When he sits back in that pocket, he’s already tall, so he can see everything, and he just delivers,” Howard said. “That’s one thing I can say about him.”
The Texans got a preview of what Mills could do against the Cleveland Browns in the 31-21 loss in Week 2 FirstEnergy Stadium. Filling in for an injured Tyrod Taylor, taking over the offense to start the second half, Mills complete eight passes on 18 attempts for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Aside from his first two drives — a three-and-out and an interception — Mills stood in the pocket like a veteran.
Said Howard: “He’s not scared to take a hit when he’s throwing the ball, and you can tell because I think last week the guy came free, he took the hit, but he’s a quarterback. A lot of quarterbacks can’t take a hit like that and just get right back up. He got right back up and came back down on that drive and scored a touchdown. So that speaks volumes to what type of player he is.”
The Texans will need Mills to continue playing with that resilience and determination as they face the 2-0 Panthers, who feature one of the stoutest defenses in the league. Carolina is tied with the Buffalo Bills as the best defense in the NFL at 3.7 yards per play surrendered, and they lead the NFL with 10 sacks.
