How Much Blame Should Be Placed on Davis Mills For Texans Offensive Struggles?
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans were adamant throughout the offseason about giving Davis Mills a chance to prove his worth as the starting quarterback for the future.
After an impressive end to his rookie campaign, the Texans expressed optimism that Mills could take the helm as Houston's franchise quarterback following the jettison of Deshaun Watson in March.
Five games into his sophomore campaign, Mills has not met the franchise's modest expectations. But general manager Nick Caserio believes Mills' early season struggles are an indication of the Texans' offensive inconsistencies as a whole.
"I think overall as a team we need to be more consistent with our performance," Caserio said. "There’s been some good things. There’s been some things that we can certainly do better. To put Davis in that category, I think it’s more emblematic of the team than anything else and making it about one player."
Caserio believes that consistency on the offensive side of the ball could lead to more wins for the 1-3-1 Texans following their Week 6 bye.
Houston's offensive line has been tolerable at best. And prior to Dameon Pierce's breakout performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Texans had rushed for an average of 83.0 yards through the first three games of the season.
The Texans have put together a subpar performance on the offensive side of the ball by averaging 308.8 total yards and 17.2 points. But Mills' on-field contributions have not helped Houston enhance their inferior offensive play.
While possessing the third-lowest quarterback rating of the season (32.6 QBR), Mills has thrown for 1,048 yards while completing 62.7 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
The Texans' 34-24 loss to the Chargers marked the only game Mills completed over 65 percent of his passes. He finished the game throwing for a season-high 246 yards, two touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions while going 26-for-35 from the field.
Despite his struggles, coach Lovie Smith said he likes the direction Mills is heading as he continues his ongoing development.
"I like what he’s done," Smith said. "Excited about the second quarter of our season with Davis leading us. What we want him to do is just continue to learn from things that are happening each week, and I know that’s what he’s going to do.”
Caserio does not believe it makes a difference who the quarterback is for any franchise. It is each team's responsibility to make the right decision. Take care of the football. And execute in critical situations to win games.
"Offensively, move the ball, score points and get the ball in the end zone," Caserio said. "In the end, it’s about points. And that’s what matters."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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