HOUSTON – The Texans are signing veteran quarterback Jeff Driskel to their active roster from their practice squad, according to league sources.
The Texans are maintaining their two-quarterback system heading into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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“I thought it was effective,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said on Monday. “Two different flavors, and that’s always tough for a defense to prepare with what we were doing with them. As far as what we’re going to do this week going forward, we started evaluating and seeing what we need to do against another good division-leading Kansas City football team.
“We’ll see how that goes, but both quarterbacks were productive. This will be Davis Mills’ second time in that starting role. I thought he played well and made some good throws.”
The Texans’ backup quarterback, elevated from the practice squad for the third time against the Dallas Cowboys, threw his first touchdown pass since Sept. 27, 2020 when he was playing for the Denver Broncos
Splitting time with starter Davis Mills, Driskel helped the Texans’ usually sluggish offense click Sunday. It was an effective strategy designed by offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton intended to breathe some life into a dormant offense.
Although the 1-11-1 Texans still wound up losing 27-23 to the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, the two-quarterback collaboration contributed to them leading throughout in arguably their best overall offensive performance of the season.
“I like it,” Texans offensive tackle Tytus Howard said. “I think it kind of caught the Cowboys by surprise. I don’t think they knew what to do when he was in there. They didn’t know if he’d pass or run. I think he went out there and he made some plays, gave the offense a spark. I think that’s something we might be doing going forward, so I liked it.”
Mills and Driskel equally split the offensive snaps, 50 percent apiece with 33 plays each.
“It worked,” said wide receiver Chris Moore, who caught a career-high 10 passes for 124 yards on 11 targets. “It was nice, it was seamless. We worked on it throughout the week and when it came to the game, I felt like it flowed pretty well. I thought our offense, as you could see, did pretty good with it.”
Is there a name for the two-quarterback system?
“I don’t know yet,” Moore said. “I’ll have to get back to you on that one because that would be sweet.”
Mills, back in the starting lineup after being benched for two weeks and replaced by Kyle Allen, who was inactive, completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and one interception on a desperation Hail Mary heave to end the game.
“That was something that we worked on all week, a nice little package for me in there,” said Driskel, who was converted to tight end last season because of his athleticism before breaking his collarbone and going on injured reserve. “I was excited to get out there and help the team win and, obviously, it was not what we wanted to do at the end of the game. We’ve just got to execute a few more times and punch the ball in the end zone, but it was good to get back in the game.”
The quarterback platoon worked until a pivotal red-zone sequence as the Texans failed to put the game away after getting a first-and-goal after a Tremon Smith interception. Rex Burkhead was stuffed twice for a total loss of three yards. Driskel was tackled on an option run on fourth down, and the Cowboys drove 98 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
“It was a play to get out on the edge and they had more bodies out there than maybe we wanted,” Driskel said. “It was fourth down and I tried to put my foot in the ground and get vertical and they beat us on that step.”
Driskel completed 4 of 6 throws for 38 yards and the 28-yard touchdown. He also rushed for 36 yards on seven carries. The teamwork between Mills and Driskel was evident.
“Props to Davis for being able to play the game like that,” Driskel said. “That’s not easy to come in on third down a lot of times and drop back pass, but I thought he handled it well. I think the game was called in a way that both of us were able to help. We came up short and have got to be able to execute a few more times.”
“I think Davis handled it really well. There are a lot of guys that wouldn’t be too excited about coming off the field, but that’s just not who he is. He’s about winning the game. We thought that was the best strategy. I think we knew going in that’s how this game was going to be played and we have a really good quarterback room and nothing selfish from anybody.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged that the two-quarterback system was difficult to defend.
From series to series, from play to play, the Cowboys and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn didn’t know which quarterback would be in the game.
With Driskel, the Texans had a more mobile quarterback. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds for NFL scouts coming out of college.
With Mills, the Texans have more of a traditional pocket passer.
“I think Houston, I thought they played well, they’re a challenge to play with two quarterbacks,” McCarthy said. “There’s some herky-jerkiness to that. They hit their big plays. We transitioned very well. We’re familiar with Jeff Driskel, we actually brought him in for a free agent visit a few years back.
“I thought Dan and the staff and the players handled it seamlessly on the communication. You know every time they swapped, communication was clean. I didn’t see the substitution of it as the issue, but it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge because you know it is concept thinking as far as your play call and staying on your script, getting into your rolodex and all those things.”
Playing without injured wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, the Texans still hit some big plays.
“It was seamless,” Moore said. “I feel like we did a good job of practicing that all week and we went out there and executed the game plan pretty well.”
The communication in the huddle didn’t suffer with the constant changes.
“It was effective,” offensive guard A.J. Cann said. “The communication wasn’t different at all. They did a good job communicating when they were coming in and when they were going out. It seemed to be working. We were moving the ball with it. Hey, look, it might be something we use in the future.”
Playing with two quarterbacks represented something of a foreign concept, but it worked.
“As a receiver, you just get open and if the ball is around you, you’ve just got to catch it, ”wide receiver Amari Rodgers said. “To me, it doesn’t matter who’s out there at quarterback. I’ve got to do my job and get open. If the ball comes my way, I’ll make the play.
“Driskel and Davis, they did a great job handling the game management and keeping the offense rolling. They did a great job. Maybe we will keep rolling with that because they did a great job.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC2 and click2houston.com