HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Don't count Brandon Staley among those surprised by Davis Mills' big game on Sunday. While preparing for the Texans offense over the course of the week, the Chargers head coach was impressed by what he saw in the Texans rookie quarterback.
"I thought he's been a quality player the entire season," Staley said after Mills threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns against his defense during the Texans 41-29 win on Sunday. "I think he's given them a real chance, and that's why they're starting him."
Mills completed 21-of-27 passes against the Chargers, who played without key defenders Joey Bosa and Derwin James. He utilized the short passing game early on, which helped the Texans score 10 points, but with the first half winding down and Texans trailing 12-10, Mills led a 94-yard touchdown to put them up for good, and most of the damage was done through the air. He completed a 36-yard pass to Phillip Dorsett to get into Chargers territory, and then capped the drive with a 41-yard bomb to Chris Conley.
"I thought he made some throws today," Staley said. "They had a good amount of explosions in the passing game, the two-minute (drive) in the end of the half was a really tough circumstance for us because we had them at second-and-16. We had a defensive holding, and then you give up a double move (to Dorsett) and then you give up a nine for a touchdown. So, that sequence was not good for us, and I think he made enough winning plays for them to win the game."
The Texans scored on three-of-four drives in the first half, and they possessed the ball five times in the second half. The first ended in a missed field goal, but the three drives that followed resulted in 17 points. The last time Mills touched the ball he took a knee in victory formation to end the game.
In the three games since taking over the Texans starting quarterback job, Mills has completed 69 percent of his passes and averaged 265 yards passing per game. He's thrown five touchdown passes and one interception.
The third round pick out of Stanford started his NFL career by losing his first seven starts, but he's won back-to-back starts and shown drastic improvement despite the personnel around him constantly changing.
