Yesterday afternoon, head coach Demeco Ryans informed the media that starting quarterback C.J. Stroud would officially be ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jaguars due to still being in concussion protocol. In his place will be backup quarterback and five-year veteran Davis Mills. 

Stroud sustained the injury early in the second quarter of this past Sunday's game when he was hit by a Broncos defender while giving himself up on a late slide attempt. Although he was able to stand on his feet and give a thumbs up to fans in the stands, evaluations concluded that he should be pulled from the game and held out for at least the next week. 

Mills didn't look half bad in his almost three quarters of play, going 17/30 (56.7%) for 137 yards, two sacks, zero interceptions and a 68.3 passer rating. Keep in mind, this was with limited reps in an emergency situation against a top-five overall defense in the NFL, in the Broncos. 

With Mills now being the proclaimed starter for this upcoming matchup vs. the Jaguars, he now has an entire week's worth of reps with the other first-teamers to get prepared. Head coach Demeco Ryans recognized and acknowledged the benefits of an opportunity for a thorough preparation week for Mills.

"It is a benefit for him being able to get the reps, get the reps throughout practice, getting the walkthrough reps, getting every single rep that he can get, getting on the same page with the receivers, getting the huddle, getting the snap count, all those little things, getting the operation down the proper way," expressed head coach Demeco Ryans when asked by the media about his own expectation for Mills during this process. 

Mills hasn’t started a game since the 2022 season, the year before Houston drafted Stroud. Across his career, he’s appeared in 40 games with 26 starts, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 6,327 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions.

Oddly enough, Mills actually has a winning record against the Jaguars. In his career against them, he is 2-1 while going 57/94 (60.6%), 550 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 79.7 passer rating. 

On Mills' growth over the years, Ryans also declared, "I think I've seen growth in that where he's really protected the football more, made better decisions throughout training camp. I just like the progression that I saw from where we were our first year to where he is now.”

Prior to the news of Stroud's absence for Sunday vs. Jacksonville being made legit, there was analysis from ESPN that gave the Texans a 58.9% chance of beating the Jaguars (FanDuel had Houston at 63.4%). With Mills' start now being announced, the has completely flipped the percentages. 

In betting language, with the idea of Stroud under center, FanDuel had the Texans opening as 1.5-point favorites at home with an over/under of 38.5 points. Now, the Jaguars are seen as the favorites with a 1.5-point spread at -112 overall. 

All that to say, many people don't see Mills as a viable option to steer the ship in the temporary replacement of Stroud. Thus, the Texans look to be sitting ducks come afternoon kickoff time. 

What do you think? Will Mills surprise everyone and lead the Texans to an improbable victory in a dire situation? Or, will the circumstance be too much for him and the team?

Let us know in the comment section below, or on the Texans Roundtable X account (@Texans_RTB)!