The Houston Texans were unsung in 2021, such is the case when a club finishes with a 4-13 record. Whether or not they had any heroes is subject for debate.
According to Nick Shook from NFL.com, rookie quarterback Davis Mills was the Texans’ unsung hero in their 20th season in team history.
At 4-13, the Texans didn’t have a ton of positive moments to cheer for in 2021. But one rookie gave the organization reason to believe there are brighter days ahead at a position that was more uncertain than any other for Houston entering 2021. Mills’ first few professional outings were erratic, but once former coach David Culley decided to give the third-round pick the rest of the season in December, he settled in and played well, posting passer ratings of 92 or better in four of his final five games. Mills even led the Texans to a stunning win over the Chargers in Week 16, throwing two touchdown passes in the second-best game of his young career. His best game came in a close loss the Patriots in Week 5. The tape from those two contests offers proof Mills could end up being the Texans’ quarterback for more than just 11 games of a forgotten season.
The classification of Mills as “unsung” is somewhat of a misnomer. The third-rounder from Stanford plays the most premier position in the game. Houston went 2-3 in his last five starts, and gave the Tennessee Titans a scare in Week 18, and it was mostly due to the outstanding play from Mills. The rookie compiled a 102.4 passer rating with a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio.
Mills was the hero.
As good of an ending as Mills had in 2021, general manager Nick Caserio says it is a blank slate for 2022.
“What does that mean for next year? That doesn’t really mean anything,” Caserio told reporters on Jan. 14. “We felt Davis was a good player when we drafted him and some of the things that you saw from him this season were confirmation of that. He’s got a long way to go as well and he’d be the first to tell you that. He’s got to learn, more than anything, defenses and what the other team is trying to do.”
If Mills can develop into a heralded hero for 2022, the Texans have a distinct chance to complete the rebuild and contend for the postseason.
