Houston Texans offense ‘in a trance,’ plus other Week 4 takeaways

The Houston Texans played the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday. The Chargers were the heavy favorite, but the Texans almost pulled together a comeback but once again fell short.

There are a lot of noticeable improvements from Houston, but the offense took too long to get moving as there was poor offensive play calling, and yet again, too many missed tackles on defense. The rookies looked great, but there is much to improve to become competitive.

Here are three takeaways from the Week 4 loss to Los Angeles, moving Houston to 0-3-1 overall after four games in the 2022 season.

Texans Takeaway: The offense is in a trance

The Houston Texans’ offense has been in a trance, doing the same thing every game with no adjustments. The Texans will run the ball, which went very well, but quarterback Davis Mills will either make incorrect reads or rely on veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Until the fourth quarter, Mills missed reads, threw uncatchable balls and turned the ball over twice.

When the fourth quarter came, Mills finally opened his vision and made good reads, throwing it to three different receivers. Mills made a great throw to tight end Jordan Akins and followed that up with a short pass to running back Rex Burkhead.

Mills finally targeted second-year wide receiver Nico Collins for a deep 58-yard dart. Mills looked like he did at the end of last season with a few perfect passes and more trust in Collins. Mills looked great that drive, taking the right shots downfield and throwing to multiple pass catchers.

The Texans came close to substituting Kyle Allen in for Mills and having him warm up on the sideline, but then Mills looked good in the last quarter.

If Mills doesn’t play as he did in the fourth quarter on Sunday this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he may be riding the bench very soon.

Many Texans fans are already looking into the 2023 NFL Draft, hoping to select quarterback CJ Stroud from Ohio State or Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. It may be time to move on if Mills can’t blow fans away and get their belief and trust in Week 5.