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Oh sure, it wasn’t “pretty” or “objectively good,” but Mills played the second half in relief of C.J. Stroud and led the Texans to three field-goal drives, enough for Houston to hang on to the No. 5 seed. Mills is under contract with the Texans through 2026 as Nick Caserio reflexively signs him to a one-year contract extension every September.

After downing the Jaguars and Titans in his first two starts, Mills got a much tougher matchup on Thursday night against the Bills, but did just enough to will his team to a third-straight win. In what was easily his worst start of the season, Mills and the Texans converted only 2-of-12 third down tries, but a 24-yard pass to Nico Collins in the second quarter helped set the Texans up for their first touchdown on the night, which came on a two-yard reception by Christian Kirk, and Mills would later complete passes of 19 and 33 yards on a drive that ended with an eight-yard score by Jayden Higgins. Mills was solid in his three starts, throwing for 719-5-1 while keeping the Texans in the thick of the playoff race. He’ll likely head back to the bench for Week 13’s game against the Colts, with C.J. Stroud (concussion) expected to return, but Mills proved to be more than serviceable after making multiple starts for the first time since the 2022 season.

Mills’ mobility was more exposed in this one with the Titans able to generate significantly higher pressure amounts than the Jaguars did last week, leading to four sacks and a zero-point first half. But with the run offense struggling, it was Mills who led the Texans down the field for their lone touchdown drive, and Mills who threaded a sideline 18-yarder to Nico Collins on third-and-long that all but sealed the win. Assuming he gets the start on a short turnaround against the Bills on TNF, Mills will be firmly on the superflex QB2 line.

Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) has officially been ruled out despite one practice remaining this week. Stroud reportedly remains symptomatic after suffering a concussion in Week 9 and has not yet returned to practice. Mills amazingly finished as the overall QB3 in Week 3 against the Jaguars, scoring three touchdowns, including one on the ground. He is unlikely to repeat the feat again, though the Titans’ soft defense should allow him to play efficiently. He is a QB2. Mills is currently practicing in full through a left elbow injury.

C.J. Stroud is still experiencing concussion symptoms and remains in the league’s protocol. He did not practice Wednesday. Mills threw for 292 yards and two scores in an upset win over the Jags last week. He also ran for 30 yards and a game-winning touchdown. Mills won’t be asked to do nearly as much against the lowly Titans this week. He will slot in as a low-end QB2 for Week 11.

He added three carries for 30 yards and another touchdown — a scramble on third-and-goal with less than a minute left that gave the Texans their first lead of the game. The Texans were dead to rights in this game, down 29-10 with a minute left in the third quarter, then reeled off 20 straight points to take the lead and won the game on a walkoff pick-six by Sheldon Rankins. We’d like to tell you that this was a marked change of play — and Mills did make some nice throws — but largely the Jaguars got kicked around up front by the Texans and Mills was able to take sideline curls and middle-of-the-field throws with aplomb. We imagine he’ll remain on the low end of the QB2 superflex discussion in Week 11 against the Titans — assuming C.J. Stroud doesn’t clear concussion protocol by then — but this was much more ceiling than we imagined Mills to have today.

With Houston playing on Thursday night next week, it’s possible that Mills parlays C.J. Stroud’s concussion into a few starts here. Mills is a bottom-rung superflex streamer with this offensive infrastructure, but he’s probably preferable to quarterbacks at the true bottom like Tyler Shough and Cam Ward against the Jaguars in Week 10.

It was, of course, a great Broncos defense. Mills had nothing going for him besides throwing it in Nico Collins’ general direction and was almost picked a few times. If Mills starts next week against the Jaguars, he’d be a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues. Mills doesn’t play like he’s totally lost, there’s just no real talent around him other than Collins.

Big news for fans of the 2022 Texans. Mills played extensively in the team’s Week 18 win over the Titans last year, culminating in a second-and-goal dive where Mills landed helmet mask first short of the goal line and a narrow win. Mills hasn’t exactly played poorly when given a chance, but he’s probably not one of the best 10 backups in the league either.

The Texans had a turnover on a nice Mills completion when Robert Woods had a ball poked out in the open field. Otherwise the most notable thing about his start was face-planting on the goal line on a second-and-goal dive for the pylon he came up short on. It was Mills’ first extensive playing time in a regular season game since 2022. He didn’t look half-bad, but it isn’t like the Texans are sitting on hidden gold on their bench either.