Nico Collins' Confidence Helps Texans Over Titans

The Houston Texans are marching forward with a smile after a 16-13 win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 11 at Nissan Stadium.

In the victory, wide receiver Nico Collins caught nine passes for 92 yards and a touchdown to help beat the Titans. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke on the confidence Collins has and how infectious that can be.

"Nico and Davis (Mills), that connection really took off in the second half, which we needed. We needed a spark. We start getting the ball to Nico, and we saw he made play after play after play. So did outstanding job putting us in position there to make that field goal a lot easier," Ryans said.

"When Nico (Collins) is out there, he's getting targeted. For the most time when he gets targeted, he comes down with the football."

Nico Collins Helps Texans Get Past Titans

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) catches a touchdown pass over Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker (37) during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texans are 3-1 this season when Collins records 79 yards or more, proving that he is a key part of the team's offense. He takes some of the attention off of rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, giving the Texans balance in the offense.

Collins' presence helped make Mills a lot more comfortable in the pocket against the Titans.

"Extremely reliable, Nico's (Collins) going to make a big play if there needs to be one to be made," Mills said. "So, when I looked out and saw that they ended up running Cover 2 over there, clouded his side, we had the perfect route called for it and he was able to kind of find the honey hole behind the corner, outside the safety and I was able to deliver him a ball.

"But it came down to also, offensive line and backs and protection doing their job, blocking extremely well throughout game and that's just one play, out of many that we did today to go out there and execute in chase of our goal."

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Collins credits his success to Mills and their connection, which has been forged ever since the pair of them came to the team as rookies in the 2021 draft class.

"It comes down to the week of practice, extra reps, routes on air, the communication out there, the walk-thru, just seeing what he sees. And just coming back to the huddle and saying, 'we keep it hot just like that,' that's all it takes. And then just continuing to stack wood and continuing to get better every single day," Collins said.

There's a chance Mills may need to stay on the field for the team's game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, and if that's the case, him and Collins are ready to help the offense.

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