Despite a terrible start to the season and more disappointing setbacks that followed their first victory of the year, the Houston Texans have battled back into playoff contention.
They’re in the thick of the AFC wild-card race, on the heels of an 0-3 start to the season.
The Texans, the AFC South champs the previous two seasons, are now 5-5 heading into a pivotal.
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Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills.
Even though starting quarterback and former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl selection C.J. Stroud will miss his third consecutive game with a concussion, the Texans are riding a two-game winning streak engineered by backup Davis Mills.
Mills has given the Texans hope by taking care of the football and making some timely throws. He has three touchdown passes and one interception and has manufactured game-winning fourth-quarter drives over the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In Mills, the Texans trust.
The Texans have been learning how to win close games.
After starting the season 0-5 in one-score games, they have won consecutive one-score games.
Mills passed for 274 and 292 yards the past two weeks with Stroud sidelined after absorbing a hard hit against the Denver Broncos.
The Texans were down 19 points in the fourth quarter to the Jaguars and scored 26 unanswered points. They were scoreless in the first half against the Tennessee Titans and needed a last-second field goal from replacement kicker Matthew Wright to beat a 1-9 squad.
While it hasn’t been smooth sailing, the Texans are starting to become much more competitive.
“I’m just proud of the way we’re finishing,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t finishing games really good to start the season, but how we’re finishing games now and finishing with a win, that’s all that matters. I’m proud of our guys for that. “It’s just about being laser-focused. Can’t do anything about how we started, but again, it’s the mentality about our season, about each game. It’s all about how you finish, and if you finish the right way, you are going to be in a good spot. It’s just remaining focused on the target and the task in front of you.”
Now, it’s a different story altogether.
“Each game is its own game,” Ryans said. “You’ve got to go out and do the things necessary that it takes to win those games. There isn’t any magic elixir that comes out like, ‘Oh, you guys finished because this certain thing happened.’ No, you’ve just got to go finish games, you’ve got to execute the right way, you’ve got to make plays in those critical moments.”
The Texans face a tough test Thursday against the 7-3 Bills followed by games against the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts and the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, the team that dispatched them from the playoffs last year.
Scoreboard watching is tempting, but Ryans will resist doing so.
“What matters is however the standings look, I know what it proves. It’s winning,” Ryans said. “So, my focus is on doing everything I can possibly do to help our team be in a position to win this game this week. The standings and all of those things will take care of themselves.”
The Texans are currently eighth in the AFC playoff standings.
They need to keep winning and stack some success. They are one spot behind the Jaguars, whom they split the season series with, and one spot ahead of the Chiefs, who have a 5-5 record.
For Mills, it’s a big game because it’s the next game on the schedule. He’s focused.
“It’s just another game,” Mills said. “Obviously, every game’s extremely important and it’s going to be fun seeing NRG [Stadium] rocking on Thursday when the time comes. But you prepare the same each week. I know this week being a short week, it’s a little different schedule-wise, but we’re still getting all the prep, all the game planning and we’re going to be ready to go on Thursday night.
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