Texans: 3 Lessons learned in Week 1 tie with Colts

2. Offense can be creative with Pep Hamilton at OC

Watching Davis Mills on Sunday in Week 1, he did some things well and there is work to do for the quarterback, but that can be said about any player in the NFL after Week 1. Houston is going to be running play action with Mills this season, and as the games continue, it will be fun to see what offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has in mind for Mills.

There was more creativity for Houston with Hamilton calling plays. Heck, we even saw Jeff Driskel come in for Mills to make the defense think a little more when in the second quarter the backup quarterback came in and handed off the football for a rushing play.

Since there is talk about creativity, don’t forget about the flea flicker play with a Mills handoff to Burkhead, followed by the pitch back to the QB, then the pass to Brandin Cooks.

Mills finished 23-of-37 for 240 yards passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but he did have a fumble in the fourth quarter, which hurt the Texans late in the game. Even with the fumble, Mills deserves some positive notes too, one being he didn’t throw an interception, and all of us can agree that’s a great thing to have with the starting quarterback.

The QB1 Mills did have some miscues with some of his throws — no quarterback is perfect, even Tom Brady — but there was a lot to work with when watching Mills, and the hope here is he and Hamilton will keep improving together as Mills stays on the field this season.

The lesson for Mills is this … as we’ve said a lot with the QB1, patience is key this season for Mills, and once things all come together as the season continues, he’s going to be a quarterback to be reckoned with down the line.

The lesson for the offense is think outside the box, and be prepared to see pretty much anything with Hamilton calling the plays in his first season doing so while in charge of the Texans’ offense.