DeMeco Ryans Credits Texans’ Offense for Key Victory vs. Titans

Ironically enough, a historic comeback counts exactly the same as a grind-it-out late victory for the Houston Texans against the league's poorest team, the Tennessee Titans.

As things played out, successfully navigating a squeaker to push themselves back to the .500 mark was never going to be pretty or easy. It also was going to require a bona fide catalyst, and for head coach DeMeco Ryans, that firestarter is invariably superstar wide receiver Nico Collins.

"That connection really took off in the second half, which we needed. We needed a spark," Ryans declared about the Mills to Collins partnership. "We start getting the ball to Nico and we saw he made play after play after play."

Davis Mills Shares Strong Sentiment on Nico Collins

When you look beyond Collins' nine grabs for 92 yards and a score, you bear witness to how his huge catch radius and gifted ability to drag both feet into bounds pumps vital oxygen into his backup quarterback, Davis Mills.

"Nico's going to make a big play if there needs to be one made," Mills said. "When we had third and long on that drive, I mean, we need to convert because otherwise we're giving them the ball back with 40, 50 seconds left."

In fairness, it would do Collins a rather great disservice to claim he's now Mills' chosen safety blanket with the game on the line, but it kinda fits anyway.

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) looks downfield during the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For two weeks in a row now, Mills has looked unfazed when presented with pressure and a golden opportunity to win games.

"His emotions never change, which is great," Ryans enthused about his backup signal caller. "I love that about Davis. 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 and our entire sideline, our team feels that from Davis."

Buffalo Bills Present Treacherous Challenge for Texans

Now working on a brutally short week, the odds greatly increase that Mills might still remain at the controls if starter C.J. Stroud fails to get through the concussion protocol once again.

Scrambling from what looked like a stricken vessel back onto the shores of 5-5 is one thing, but the deadly threat Buffalo Bills quarterback will present to even the league's stingiest defensive unit barely needs further explanation.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen calls out before the snap during second half action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov 16, 2025 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For as much as elite edge rushing partners Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. continued to amass sacks on Sunday against Titans rookie Cam Ward, diligent rush lane integrity will be the key priority against Buffalo.

But for now, stacking wins against absolutely anybody in this league is extremely difficult and energy-sapping; so it's always best to smell the flowers just a little.

"Last week we had to come back and win a game. We were down a lot and this week again we put ourselves in a hole, but man we had a great two-minute drive," Ryans said. "We weren't finishing games really good to start the season with how we're finishing games now and finishing with a win, that's all that matters."

Once the intoxicating aroma of consecutive late wins subsides, however, simply doubling down on what little preparation time they have this week will take precedence. After all, in the NFL, rust never sleeps.

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