How Davis Mills’ Clutch Plays Sunday Saved the Texans’ Season
On Sunday, quarterback Davis Mills started his first game for the Houston Texans since Week 18 of the 2022 season. In other words, the last time we saw Davis Mills starting under center, DeMeco Ryans was still the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, and C.J. Stroud was a week removed from playing the game of his life in a playoff loss to Georgia. It had been a while.
Leading up that season finale in 2022, Davis Mills had been the primary starting quarterback for the Texans in 2021 and 2022, his first two seasons in the NFL. While Mills himself is hardly the only one to blame, he did sport a 5-19-1 record as a starter over those two seasons. Not good. Not good at all.
So forgive us if it’s hard to come up with a sizzle reel of clutch plays for a quarterback with a 5-19-1 career record, and thusly, forgive us if it’s hard to believe that when clutch play is required, Mills will indeed make a play. This just in — there’s not a lot of “clutch” in 5-19-1.
Yet on Sunday, in the Texans’ massive comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, there was Mills, down 19 in the fourth quarter, engineering a comeback for the ages. 20 unanswered points on offense, capped off with a defensive touchdown by Sheldon Rankins on the final play of the game. Mills was historic on Sunday, and for the first time lived up to the “Money Mills” moniker some fans had (ironically?) given him.
In fact, here were the five most clutch plays from Mills in Sunday’s fourth quarter comeback, along with the ESPN.com win probability for the Texans before each snap was taken:
JAYLIN NOEL converts 4th-2 at JAC 17, 13:02 left in Q4, 1.6% win prob at snap
The Texans were moving the ball here, but still trailed by 19 points. If there is no conversion here, the Jaguars get the ball back, and the Texans still need to take the ball away three more times (or convert an onside kick). Offensive coordinator Nick Caley used some nifty pre-snap motion with Noel to shake him free and convert this play easily. Three plays later…
JAYDEN HIGGINS scores TD on 3rd-10 at JAC 12, 12:25 left in Q4, 2.1% win prob at snap
The next series of downs saw incompletions on first down and second down. On third down and long, the rookie Higgins ran a great slant route, and Mills put the ball right on him, and kept the Texans from an “all or nothing” 4th and 10 to convert:
The two point conversion to Nico Collins was also a thing of beauty…
DALTON SCHULTZ scores TD on 3rd-3 at JAC 7, 7:36 left in Q4, 15.4% win prob at snap
The Texans’ defense was then able to get the ball back, holding Jacksonville to a three play, -4 yard drive. The Jags’ were only able to siphon off 2:12 of game clock. The Texans then went on a drive to make it a one score game, and once again, for a team that had been the worst in the red zone all season long, Mills came up huge in third down to Dalton Schultz:
DALTON SCHULTZ convert 3rd-10 at HOU 7, 6:02 left in Q4, 16.6% win prob at snap
Once again, the Texans’ defense held the Jags to a three and out, but a nice punt left the Texans on their own seven yard line to start what ultimately became their game winning drive. However, before the 14 play, 93 yard drive could get out of first gear, Mills ended to convert a 3rd and 10 from the shadows of his own goalposts. This is when he hit Schultz again, this time on a crossing route for a huge 20 yard gain.
DAVIS MILLS scores TD on 3rd-GOAL at JAC 14, 0:41 left in Q4, 25.2% win prob at snap
Not much to say on this one. Just a legendary moment in a long 3rd and goal situation, set up by two false start penalties on the offensive line. Credit Woody Marks with an underrated block near the pylon on linebacker Devin Lloyd:
So there you go. Five clutch plays in “big boy” situations, which might be more than Mills had generated in his entire Texans career before that. Of course, these are games with actual stakes, with seasons and playoff ramifications on the line. This is new territory for Mills, but on Sunday, he passed the test with flying colors.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
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Reign Bowers is an outdoor enthusiast, adventure seeker, and storyteller passionate about exploring nature’s wonders. As the creator of SuperheroineLinks.com, Reign shares inspiring stories, practical tips, and expert insights to empower others—especially women—to embrace the great outdoors with confidence.
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