After what would be 28 days since he stepped foot on a football field as a competitor, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is expected to finally return to action against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, November 30th at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

With backup Davis Mills stepping up in his absence, Houston has gone 3-0 in defeating the Jaguars (6-4), Titans (1-9) and now the Bills (7-4). While the defense has been the talk of the sports media world since Thursday night (rightfully so), Mills himself has been commended as having maintained a steady hand while delivering clutch moment after clutch moment when the team's season was teetering on the verge of collapse at 3-5. 

Here's a brief recap on Mills' performance since November 2nd: (when he first replaced Stroud against Denver after the concussion)

• 86/146 (58.9%), 856 yards
• 5-1 Touchdown to Interception ratio
• Led two game winning drives, including a 19-point comeback against Jacksonville (2nd largest in franchise history)
• In three games, helped receivers Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins and Christian Kirk have their most productive stretches of the season (Collins: 19 catches, 283 yards, 1 TD/ Higgins: 13 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs/ Kirk: 7 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD)
• Has Houston at 6-5 and only half of a game back of Jacksonville for the 7th seed in the AFC (one full game back of the Chargers (7-4) and Bills for 5th or 6th seed)

A Quarterback Quandary Of Sorts

Mills and the Texans' defense navigated the team through disastrous waters and now have them on the verge of true playoff contention. With Stroud now back in the fold, the fanbase should be in jubilation over the thought of going undefeated with a backup quarterback, and then the keys being turned over to a refreshed and refocused franchise signal caller for the stretch run.

If only it were that easy. For you see, a slight fissure has developed in the fanbase over whether or not Stroud taking the reins back is the best idea. With how well certain facets of the offense functioned under Mills' stewardship, a very small minority of fans have come to suspect that Stroud could be limiting the team's success with his play.

As such, they believe that continuing to start Mills could give Houston and their defense their best opportunity for regular season elevation in the short term.

Expectations Are Set

Now, social media banter amongst armchair quarterbacks and keyboard warriors should be taken with a Texas-sized grain of salt (and rarely ever legitimized with acknowledgement in print). However, comments like what ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said on an episode of "First Take" yesterday morning definitely help to articulate what some in Houston are feeling:

"I'm going to say this, and I love him: this is putting a lot of pressure on C.J. Stroud now," expressed Orlovsky about Stroud's comeback.

"Because once C.J. Stroud went out because of the head, they've started to win some games. He's now going to come back, and they're no longer on the outside looking in from the playoff perspective. They're right on that line and it's an expectation now to get in." 

Orlovsky is not wrong. While this occurrence does not/should not constitute a classic quarterback controversy, the reality is that Stroud is returning to a winning situation and the margin for error is razor-thin.

Regardless of why, they were 3-5 when he left and the offense looked disheveled more often than not.  In his absence, offensive Nick Caley has shown that he is able to craft some fluidity into the offense and feature players who previously struggled to consistently contribute on Sundays.

Now, everyone has seen the capabilities of guys like Higgins and running back Woody Marks, along with a reminder to the NFL that Collins is still a top-10 receiver in the league. 

The Path to the Playoffs

Having six games left, with four of which against AFC playoff contenders, Houston cannot afford to still struggle with knowing their offensive identity from game to game. The hope is that much of what has developed in the last three games can be infused with Stroud's football IQ, field-stretching, and ball placement proficiency. 

Even though Mills filled in admirably, there were still a number of missed throws that easily could've led to blowouts of their opponents. This offense missed Stroud, but at the same time it might've worked to the benefit of both sides to see how one functions without the other. 

With the Texans' defense already performing at historic levels, all that's needed is for the offense to finally find its footing and contribute at a high enough level that no one side has to strain and overcompensate.

Stroud is more than capable of that, and this franchise and fanbase will be all the more grateful when he finally reminds the world of who he was when he left.

Being drafted second overall, a former offensive rookie of the year, briefly in league MVP discussions, a two-time AFC South Divisional winner, and being tied for most playoff wins by a single quarterback in franchise history (two) are not things that just disappear all of a sudden. 

Welcome back, C.J. The rest of the NFL is now on notice. The hunt for a playoff three-peat for Houston is on, and that starts against the Colts.