You’re not giving the Houston Texans enough attention

The Houston Texans started their 2022 season by putting the league on notice as they took on the Indianapolis Colts in week one.  I’ve been a fan of some of the pieces the Texans have for a little bit now.  I think Davis Mills is that dude, and I’ve maintained for a while that Brandin Cooks is criminally underrated.

I do think they showed a bit of that on Sunday.  At home, the Texans opened up a 20-3 lead.  Even though the Colts were able to light up the stat sheet, their offense was largely nonexistent until the fourth quarter, when they scored 17 points to tie the game at 20.

Davis Mills outdueled Matt Ryan.  Mills went 23/37 for 240 yards and two touchdowns, while Matt Ryan went 32/50 for 352 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Again, the stat sheet would indicate a Colts drubbing, but all things considered, the Texans held their own.  The Colts have widely been seen as the clear favorites in the AFC South and an easy shoo-in for the playoffs.  Some have put the Texans in the absolute basement of the NFL.

Even their coaching staff has some underrated gems, specifically Pep Hamilton, their offensive coordinator, and Lovie Smith, who won 56% of his games and appeared in a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.

Even Davis Mills has played extremely well.  In his last seven games dating back to last season, Mills has 11 touchdown passes, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.7.  To me, I think Mills is their franchise guy.  I don’t think this team is far off from turning into a fringe playoff contender.

Their week one performance should have put the league on notice a bit.  Teams with the Houston Texans on their schedule should not simply gloss over that game and assume it to be an automatic win.  Houston is a well-coached team with solid players on both sides of the ball.  They just need a bit more juice on the roster.