NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The demeanor of Davis Mills is beyond steady. His voice rarely changes, regardless of the situation. Disagreements don’t agree with him, or difficult situations that might stress out someone else lacking his trademark poise under pressure.
That extends to the Texans backup quarterback’s life away from football.
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He has an analytical mind and considers himself a problem-solver.
“My wife used to get mad at me sometimes,” Mills said. “She’d ask me a question or want to argue a little bit and I wouldn’t react. She’s like, ‘Why are you not mad? I was like: ‘It is what it is. We’ll figure it out.’
That healthy and positive philosophy, the traits of Mills’ stoic low-key personality, were on full display again Sunday as he engineered another comeback victory for the Texans. Mills manufactured a game-winning drive defined by his perfect sideline spiral to star wide receiver Nico Collins to convert a key 3rd-and-16 situation in the final minute to position kicker Matthew Wright for the game-winning 35-yard field goal.
Mills is now 2-0 as the starter for the Texans this season, following a 16-13 win Sunday over the Tennessee Titans to sweep the season series, while starting quarterback C.J. Stroud remains under the NFL concussion protocol.
Stressed? Mills hardly lets anyone even see him sweat.
“As calm as can be, nice and easy,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Know they’re going to make the play. You just trust your guys, right? And that’s what Davis has shown. Davis keeps me calm, because he’s so calm in the moment. His emotions never change, which is great. I love that about Davis.
“I think his calm, his demeanor, he has that quiet confidence about him. Davis knows what he’s doing. He’s a competitor deep down inside, and he wants to make those plays. Our entire sideline, our team feels that from Davis. We feel his confidence when he’s out there knowing that he’s going to go to the right spot with the football and make a play.”
As the Texans engineered the walk-off field goal from Wright on a nine-play, 48-yard drive to answer Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward’s touchdown pass that capped an 11-play, 95-yard drive, Mills was perfectly calm.
“Money Mills,” Texans star defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. “He’s getting the job done.”
Mills connected with Collins in between coverage from two defensive backs as his longtime teammate positioned his body to feet to complete the 17-yard catch in bounds.
That set up the kick five plays later after a Dalton Schultz catch and three consecutive runs from rookie running back Woody Marks.
“I was just trying to watch to see if he was able to get his feet in bounds,” Mills said. “I knew I put enough on it to get it over top of the corner and I mean Nico, great field awareness, knew where the sideline was. He was able to catch it clean and get his feet in and it was a big time play by him.”
And by Mills, who adeptly recognized the Cover-2 scheme from the Titans’ defense.
“It was a big read by Mills,” Collins said. “Caught them in a zone, Cover-2, had the corner route, kept it high, toe tap on the sideline.”
Now, the Texans (5-5) have reached the .500 mark for the first time this season after consecutive wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Titans. They’re in the mix in the AFC wild-card playoff race, currently ranking eighth in the playoff standings with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Mills engineered the first two one-score wins of the season over the past two weeks. Previously, the Texans were 0-5 in those situations.
Without Mills and his cool demeanor, perhaps the Texans don’t win those games.
His calm matters.
“Yeah, for sure, 1,000 percent man,” Collins said. “Every time Mills steps in the huddle, it’s always calm, next play, everybody slow down, breathe, one play at a time, man. His calmness really just calms everyone down and that’s how you execute."
Mills, a former third-round draft pick from Stanford who started before Stroud was drafted second overall in 2023, has completed 60 percent of his throws for 726 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for an 82.2 passer rating. He scrambled for the game-winning touchdown against the Jaguars to ice the game.
“He’s always cool, calm, collected,” Texans offensive lineman Tytus Howard. He’s very poised. He’s somebody he’s always been since I’ve known him for the past five years. I’m with him very day, we’re locker mates, so I know him pretty well. He’s a great guy."
Mills completed 26 of 41 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown pass to Collins, who caught nine passes for 92 yards on 10 targets.
Mills completed 3 of his 4 final passes for 37 yards to get the Texans in position for another clutch win.
Yes, Mills embraces the pressure situation. He likes the heat.
After a slow start, Mills got the offense going at just the right moment.
“It’s fun, everything kind of slows down,” Mills said. “The field, the space opens up and when you can settle in there and you know exactly what your process is, you know exactly what the play being called is. Especially late in the game.
“I’ve seen the defense the whole entire game at this point. I know most of their calls, the disguises that they’ve already shown, and you can start using the stuff in your mind to anticipate and play even faster.”
Mills is taking care of business, and so are the Texans. They have rebounded from an 0-3 start and have won five of their past seven games.
“It’s a long season, it’s a marathon,” Collins said. “O-3 doesn’t mean anything. You can go on a winning streak, and next thing you know, you’re in the playoffs.”
The Texans may need Mills again Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. It’s a short week and Stroud’s concussion has lingered. He has experienced symptoms, including sensitivity to light and headaches.
If that’s the case, Mills will approach another high-profile game the same even-keeled way.
“I think a lot of it is my natural demeanor,” Mills said. “I’ve never been very emotional as a person. Never kind of got too upset if something bad happens. I’ve always had the mindset and mentality of ‘next play.’ You hear it a lot in the football terms, like next play mentality.
“And DeMeco talks about it a lot, but that’s kind of just how I’ve always been on the field and off the field. Can’t really control the uncontrollables, you just got to focus on what’s next and what you can do to change the outcome of the game in the best way possible.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com