Texans QB Davis Mills Shares Mindset Ahead of Jaguars Start

Heading into their Week 10 division battle against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans are set to roll with Davis Mills as their starter for the first time this season as C.J. Stroud has already been ruled out for the weekend while being in concussion protocol.

It'll be his 27th start for the Texans since arriving in 2021, but his first time back as QB1 since the 2022 season before Stroud even arrived to Houston.

However, despite the extended time being removed from his starting duties, Mills is seemingly ready for this weekend against the Jaguars, similarly to how he's operated throughout his time in the league.

"Obviously, I'm ready," Mills said about starting vs. Jacksonville. "That's kind of how I prepare week in and week out. I've always had the mindset that you can play at any given snap."

"Unfortunate, what happened to C.J. [Stroud] in the game, got thrown in there, but that's what I get paid to do: always be prepared. And it's nice having a full week of practice going into this game to attack this defense and lead these guys."

Texans' Davis Mills Ready to Go vs. Jaguars

Oct 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) directs a play during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

So far this season, Mills has gotten snaps for the Texans on two occasions: the first time being at the tail-end of Houston's 44-10 blowout vs. the Baltimore Ravens, and also to close out the day vs. the Denver Broncos last weekend as Stroud came out in the second quarter.

In that timeframe, he's completed 19 of 34 passes for 160 yards and a 55.9% completion rate.

But this weekend has some of the higher stakes the Texans have seen as a whole this season. It's the second of two matchups against the Jaguars. Houston will be looking to avoid a 3-6 record heading into the latter half of the season, and Mills will be the man at the helm guiding this up-and-down offensive unit.

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Mills, though, is confident in what he can bring to the table, and so is his head coach DeMeco Ryans, who gave his flowers to the Texans veteran backup— particularly for being an extremely smart player.

"Davis [Mills] is a super smart guy. Sharp guy," Ryans said ahead of Houston's matchup vs. Jacksonville. "Just seeing how he operates in the huddle, and then, just seeing how he can fix things when we're not all the way right when guys are coming out of the huddle. They have questions, Davis gets it fixed very quickly, articulates it very well in the huddle, and now it's about post-snap."

Time will tell how the events of Mills starting in place of Stroud will pan out vs. Jacksonville, but nonetheless, it'll be a critical opportunity for the Texans to take advantage of to keep their hopes for this season alive.

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