Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud will miss his second straight game while in the concussion protocol, head coach DeMeco Ryans announced Thursday.
Stroud was knocked out in the second quarter of the Texans' game against the Denver Broncos and missed the following matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In his place, backup Davis Mills led Houston to the second-largest comeback in franchise history, rallying from down 19 points in the fourth quarter to beat Jacksonville 36-29.
Mills was 27-of-45 with 292 passing yards, two touchdowns and interception. Yet his biggest play was a 14-yard touchdown scramble to put the Texans ahead in the fourth quarter.
“This week I'm looking for [QB] Davis [Mills] to continue to improve," Ryans said Thursday. "I thought he went out and did a nice job leading us to a victory last week. I’m looking for him to go out, execute the offense the proper way, get us in proper calls and just do his job to the best of his ability."
Mills acknowledged that winning in the fashion Houston did this past Sunday increases confidence and comfortability, but added that every week presents its own challenges.
As far as what he liked about what the Texans did offensively in his first game as a starter?
"I thought we did a really good job operating in and out of the huddle, getting up to the line fast, where we were able to get in some advantageous looks, especially in the run game, but in the pass game as well with some play action stuff, " Mills said. "I think that works for us every defense. Then a lot of it was going back and leaning on a lot of comfort past concepts and then having a twist off of them, making a lot of different things look the same. That's what we leaned into and what I was talking with (offensive coordinator Nick Caley) about last week, about what I wanted from it. He was able to put a really good plan together and we were able to go out and execute that."
The Texans are 5.5-point favorites on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The Titans have the league's worst-ranked offense and rank 25th in total defense.
Houston has the league's top-ranked defense and has improved to the 15th best total offense.