What quarterback Davis Mills is doing for the Texans is what the Bengals thought they were going to get from Jake Browning and Joe Flacco after Joe Burrow’s significant toe injury in Week 2.
No, Mills isn’t playing as well as Flacco, but he hasn’t been as bad as Browning. And that’s besides the point, because Mills is providing wins—yes, plural, two more than Flacco and Browning combined for as Cincinnati’s starter this season.
I know I’m picking on the Bengals here, but I just wanted to make a point of how important the other side of the ball is when the offense is hurting. In a league driven by star quarterbacks, we occasionally get the unsung backup who leaves an imprint on the playoff picture largely because of the beneficial surroundings. That’s exactly what’s happening in Houston with a dominant defense and a backup quarterback who’s 3–0 since taking over for the injured C.J. Stroud. Suddenly, the Texans’ playoff hopes are alive and well after their 23–19 upset of the Bills on Thursday night.
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After starting 0–3, the Texans (6–5) are only a half game behind the Jaguars (6–4) for the seventh seed in the AFC. It also wouldn’t be a stretch to say Houston is in the mix for the AFC South title because the defense is good enough to continue racking up wins. Also, the Texans and Colts (8–2) play each other twice down the stretch, including next week and in the regular-season finale in Houston.
You might have heard a few times from the Amazon Prime broadcast Thursday night that Mills was armed with the No. 1 defense in points and total yards. The football public was reminded again of how good this Texans’ defense truly is, a unit that beat up Josh Allen mentally and physically throughout the game, sacking him eight times.
Four days after Allen lit up the Buccaneers for six total touchdowns, the reigning MVP was befuddled against an elite defense that often made him slam the football onto the turf out of frustration. Allen had every opportunity to steal that game because Houston’s offense played not to lose in the second half. And he almost did after the Bills finally broke off a big play on an impressive fourth-and-27 conversion in the final minute of regulation, but the rally ended with a second interception from Allen. The Texans’ ferocious edge-rushing tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 4.5 sacks.
Texans get the 4th down stop 😤
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/rmqAreJ5mv
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 21, 2025
It would be unfair of me to call out the Bengals for being one-sided with an explosive offense and a poor defense and not do the same for the Texans, who have the opposite problem. Houston dug itself a sizable hole in the standings because of a putrid offense, one operated by Stroud, who has failed to regain the form he displayed in his sensational rookie season in 2023. Stroud, however, managed to overcome his sluggish second season by improving his play in the final weeks of 2024 before guiding Houston to a wild-card win over the Chargers, advancing his team to the divisional round for a second consecutive season.
The Texans are going to need that kind of turnaround from Stroud to increase their odds of making the playoffs once he’s cleared from the concussion he sustained in Week 9 against the Broncos. There likely won’t be a quarterback dilemma in Houston, but Mills deserves plenty of credit for sparking the offense. He’s not necessarily pushing the ball downfield, but in Week 10 he leaned on Nico Collins for an epic 19-point comeback win over the Jaguars. He did more of the same in an ugly win over the Titans last week, and he shook off a slow start against the Bills to make enough plays to keep his offense balanced with rookie running back Woody Marks. Mills finished 16-of-30 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and zero turnovers. Allen went 24-of-34 for 253 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Even if Stroud doesn’t regain his top form this season and has similar performances as Mills in the past three games, that might still be enough for Houston to clinch a playoff spot because of its dominant defense, one that has played at an elite level since DeMeco Ryans was hired as coach in 2023. If Ryans and his coaching staff can find a way to spark the offense and not be as conservative as they were in the second half of Thursday night’s win, this team has a real shot of winning out, with games against the Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders and Chargers.
I know, it doesn’t sound likely, but not many expected Allen to struggle as badly as he did against this No. 1-rated defense. Daniel Jones, Patrick Mahomes, Jacoby Brissett, Geno Smith and Justin Herbert could have similar results against the league’s best defense. It’s starting to look like Houston is headed for another divisional-round appearance.
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