ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Davis Mills didn’t have his head down during or after a disheartening performance Sunday afternoon.
It was a historically bad day for the rookie quarterback and the Texans’ anemic offense during a 40-0 defeat to the Buffalo Bills at rain-soaked Highmark Stadium.
Mills completed more passes to the Bills during the first half than he did to his teammates, throwing two interceptions while completing just one pass for three yards. It didn’t get much better for the third-round draft pick from Stanford after halftime.
After completing 1 of 7 passes in the first half for a 0.0 passer rating, Mills finished 11 of 21 for 87 yards, uncorking four interceptions for a dreadful 23.4 passer rating. Mills’ 0.8 total quarterback rating is the worst by any NFL quarterback in the past three seasons.
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The 1-3 Texans have lost three games in a row and are now 0-2 with Mills as the starting quarterback since veteran Tyrod Taylor injured his hamstring and was placed on injured reserve.
“Obviously, I don’t think I played my best football,” Mills said. “My teammates came up to me and they still had my back. We have a long season ahead of us. I’m ready to put my head down and get to work and do whatever I need to do to get us some wins.”
Nothing went Mills’ way against the Bills, a formidable Super Bowl contender that finished 13-3 last season and has now shut out two teams this season. The Texans’ margin of defeat is the highest in franchise history. They committed five turnovers.
“It’s a tough loss,” Mills said. “Obviously, we don’t want to ever have this feeling of having zero points. We still have a long season ahead of us. We know what it takes to win games. We’ll fight through that."
Mills got almost no support from the Texans’ running game, which is one of the most unproductive and ineffective groups collectively in the league. The Texans rushed for just 48 yards on 18 carries Sunday with Mark Ingram their leading rusher with 24 yards on six carries, David Johnson gaining 21 yards on five carries and Phillip Lindsay, who has 31 rushing yards on 24 carries this season, rushing for minus-1 yards on four carries.
So, it wasn’t all Mills’ fault. It's a lot for any quarterback to overcome.
“It wasn’t on him,” Texans coach David Culley said. “You can put anybody out there today. You can put Joe Montana out there, and we’re not going to have any success on offense.”
Culley added that he never considered inserting backup Jeff Driskel.
The Texans committed 10 penalties for 100 yards, nine fewer than their total offensive output.
They were 1 for 9 on third downs, frequently getting into long down-and-distance situations due to penalties.
“It’s pretty self explanatory and simple,” Culley said. “You’re not going to have good consistency, and you’re not going to stay on the football field. We can’t play that way.”
Mills willstart next Sunday’sgame against the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium, squaring off against fellow rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Under NFL rules, Taylor has to be on injured reserve at least one more game
“I felt like we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times with turnovers and penalties,” Mills said. “We can’t let a loss like this pull us apart. We have a really long season ahead of us.It’s only up from here. We’ll take that as a plus.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 years and has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128