Texans QB Davis Mills – Media Availability – October 31, 2021

What did you see that the Rams did effectively against you?

“They just have a really good front seven that we were fighting really hard to protect against, but they’ve got good players on that side of the ball. They got after me a couple times, but I thought overall our line played extremely well protection, handled what they were bringing. No crazy pressures or anything, and I thought we handled it well overall.”

How do you think you are handling pressure compared to when you first started?

“A lot better. I think I’m seeing it a lot better than I initially did, kind of going out there and making sure I see what I need to, and I don’t really need to see much more than that. I’ve definitely improved from my first game.”

What is it that works with you about the no-huddle plays?

“I’ve just always been comfortable pushing the tempo out there. I think it’s a little easier as a quarterback just to find a rhythm when you’re making quick decisions, spreading the ball across the field to your different playmakers on the edge. I think we do it well as a team, because we’re built well for stuff like that.”

What do you take away from the team’s performance in the fourth quarter?

“It’s tough. The results of the game is still the result. It wasn’t a win today, but I think the guys are starting to rally around the energy we felt from the success in the fourth quarter. I think that’s something that we can carry into this week of practice and moving forward into the next week.”

How do you internalize going 12 quarters without scoring touchdown, and how does that impact the offense?

“It’s tough. It’s frustrating at times, but the guys in the locker room still rally together. We know that we’re capable of a lot, and we’ve just got to go out there and make plays. I think we showed that later in the game today.”

What did you see on the interception?

“It was just a bad decision by me. I thought Danny (Amendola) was going to be able to get right around the guy, and I just ended up forcing it in there when I could have either tucked it and ran or thrown it away.”

On the first two drives in the second half, they sacked you four times. What was the adjustment from there, and how did you learn from it?

“It’s tough. I think those first drives in the second half, we were starting, playing from behind the sticks, especially those third-and-longs. It’s tough to play offense when the defense knows what you need to do, and we were in passing situations. So, we’ve just got to try to avoid those situations. I’ve got to be better with protection and making sure I’m getting the ball out of my hands before those guys get to me.”

Head Coach David Culley praised you a couple times after holding onto the ball after tough hits. What are you doing to work on that?

“The biggest thing that I emphasized was just protecting the football. I know if the pocket ever collapses and I’m about to get hit, I need to hold onto that thing, because a fumble is the worst thing that can happen in a situation like that. Can’t make a bad play worse. I’ve just got to keep emphasizing that and protect the football.”

Are there things from the last few drives in the fourth quarter that you can apply to the first games? Where do you see the differences between why one thing works and why another doesn’t?

“I don’t know how to answer that entirely. That’s a lot for the coaches to kind of assess and see how we’re going to game plan moving forward. I think we function well as an offense when we’re pushing the tempo, spreading the ball around, run and pass, mixing it up.”

After six games as a starting quarterback, how do you self-evaluate to this point?

“I think that continual progression from the first game I was in, I think I’ve played better each and every week, and that’s the thing I’ve been challenging myself to do. Just get better each week, protect the football, and if I do make a mistake out there, make sure I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

How much input do you have in a game plan from week to week? Do you feel better being up-tempo and getting the ball out quick?

“We’ll talk back and forth with the coaches. Obviously, they’re the ones sculpting the game plan. If there’s stuff that I really like or dislike in that, I have the feedback that I can give them to make sure we’re talking about it. But the coaches have come out with great game plans each and every week. We’ve just got to go out there and execute it better.”