Are the Houston Texans making the right move by going with Case Keenum over Davis Mills again?

C.J. Stroud is out for this Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Browns, a crucial must-win game for the Houston Texans. The Browns matchup is going to be key for the Texans' playoff hopes and a win over the Browns would allow the the Texans to keep the pace being set in the AFC South. Right now all three teams with a shot to win the division are tied with an 8-6 record.

So it's imperative that the Texans beat the Browns just for the shot to stay in the race for the AFC South and in turn, a home game to open up the playoffs. A loss wouldn't kill their chances at the playoffs, but it would severely hurt them and cause the Texans to rely on some shenanigans by other teams to get in.

If the Texans win out, at worst, they're in the playoffs. They would leapfrog the Browns and the Indianapolis Colts in the playoff rankings and control their own destiny. And if the Jaguars falter one more time, they'd win the AFC South outright if they won out. Yet, to do so, they're going to have to get past the Browns on Sunday, without Stroud.

That means another go around with former Browns' backup Case Keenum, who started for the Texans last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans and put up a mostly miserable outing as the team's starting quarterback. He put together a couple of good drives, but mostly it was running back Devin Singletary that carried the offense, and kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn that scored most of the points.

Keenum, on paper, represents the least dangerous of the players when it comes to turning the ball over, but he's also the less impactful quarterback compared to Davis Mills. The Browns' passing attack is much better than the Titans and the Texans' defense may not be able to grind out as impressive of an outing against the Browns as they did against the Titans.

Expecting or hoping Keenum out-duels Joe Flacco is certainly a reach in our eyes, and Mills represents the bigger threat to beat the Browns' banged-up defense. A loss here stifles the postseason hopes of the Texans considerably, and it may not be worth the risk to start someone in Keenum who looked as unimpressive as he did.