Texans Shut Down QB Controversy After Davis Mills Delivers vs. Bills

While the Houston Texans have lifted to a 3-0 record with Davis Mills as their starting quarterback since C.J. Stroud went down with his concussion in Week 9 vs. the Denver Broncos, there aren’t expected to be any changes to the quarterback room once fully healthy as soon as next week.

After the Texans' latest win vs. the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, the question popped for head coach DeMeco Ryans during his postgame presser, where he made the plan clear: once Stroud's back to full health, he'll be back in his usual spot at QB1.

"Ooh, look at you trying to come with that question at the end... We'll see what happens," Ryans joked.

"Nah, C.J., it's great to see him out there [on the sidelines]. He's back at practice. Just to see him back around the guys with a huge smile on his face, him feeling well, that's the most important thing when guys are in the concussion protocol."

"Just want to make sure that they're healthy and they're well. So, that's the one thing I'm most happy to see: he's well, he's himself, and he's ready to get back to football."

Davis Mills Doesn't See Competition With C.J. Stroud

Mills stepped in for the Texans in a big way on a short week against a tough opponent. He completed 16 of his 30 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, one of those scores going to his rookie, Jayden Higgins, and the other being his veteran counterpart, Christian Kirk.

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But even with another winning performance, the Texans' plug-in quarterback for the past three-and-a-half games also shared that sentiment with his head coach after pulling out another win over Buffalo: while the team is competing well, there's no competition to be had. C.J. Stroud is the guy.

“In my current situation I don’t think there is a competition,” Mills said postgame. “C.J. is the starter for this team. I’m just doing everything I can to bring my best foot forward every day, make everyone else around me better and try to provide and play my role to my best ability when I get thrown in there.

Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) looks to pass against the Buffalo Bills in the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

“He was coming over to me and giving me pointers if he saw something throughout the game when I was coming back to the bench. Extremely supportive, definitely ready to be back. He wants to get back, you can tell he’s itching to get back out there on the field, but he was great all night.”

If anything, it's a positive development for the Texans knowing that their backup quarterback is more than capable of stepping up to the occasion to remain poised and effective under center if Stroud ever does miss time in the future, as he and Houston's offense have since been able to revive Houston's season that was once lost only a couple of months ago.

However, once Stroud is able to clear concussion protocol to be active for next weekend against their division rival Indianapolis Colts, there's no reason not to expect him to be taking those starting snaps once again.

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