One catchphrase that is still being uttered throughout the sports world was made famous by the late ESPN SportsCenter host Stuart Scott.
Whenever a player stayed calm under tough conditions during a game, Scott would shout in a laid-back and stylish tone, “As cool as the other side of the pillow.”
Scott passed away in 2015 after battling cancer. Still, his signature catchphrase perfectly describes Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills’ fourth-quarter performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as he led his team to a 19-point comeback victory in the final period to beat the Jaguars 36–29.
On the final Texans offensive drive that began at Houston’s seven-yard line and spanned 14 plays for 93 yards, ending with Mills scoring a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give the Texans their first lead of the game, it was Mills who kept the huddle calm throughout the drive, maintaining the same demeanor as if the game had just started.
“He was the same on the final drive as he had been all game,” said Texans rookie offensive lineman Aireontae Ersery exclusively to Big Sarge Media about Mills. “It didn’t even feel like the game was on the line. He was just cool, calling plays, and telling us that we would win the game.”
It was that type of poise that the Texans and Mills needed to help overcome the deficit, which Mills had helped put the team in by throwing an interception on the first drive of the game and having his next two offensive possessions stall. He never flinched.
When asked if he had ever seen Mills rattled throughout practice or a game, head coach DeMeco Ryans responded the way most of his players responded when asked the same question.
“I have not,” Ryans said exclusively to Big Sarge Media. “I have not, even in the game this past week, when he started, just like even to start the game right, he throws an interception on the first drive, and you see most quarterbacks may have some expression, he went back in there, and you could still see the calm.
“I love his resolve and his demeanor is like, its ok, we’re gonna be fine and it it calms me down. As a coach, I’m going crazy, but just the way he handled everything, being like, ‘Hey, let’s go,’ but also staying steady throughout the game, and I think that’s what you definitely need at that position because it calms the entire team down. They’re all emotional roller coasters, everybody else is watching you, that’s going to be difficult for the team, so I like where he is.”
ALWAYS COOL, CALM, AND COLLECTED
Many believe that Mills’s calm demeanor developed during his time at Stanford University. Still, it has been part of his DNA ever since his Pop Warner football and playing days at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Georgia, where he was a five-star recruit and the top-ranked quarterback in the 2017 class.
“I used to get asked by my high school coaches all the time why my facial expression never changed, whether we scored or I threw an interception,” Mills said. “I told them that I have been this way since I was younger, and I just live for the next play, and they came to accept that, but only after numerous attempts to get me to show emotions.”
His composed persona is not football-related, as his lovely wife, Tori, who has been with Mills since their high school days, knows better than anyone; his calmness helps avoid any disagreements at home.
“It’s funny,” said Mills about never being rattled by any situation. “My wife used to get mad at me sometimes. She’d ask me a question or want to argue a little bit, and I wouldn’t react. She’s like, ‘Why are you not mad?’ I was like, ‘It is what it is. We’ll figure it out.”
Mills, who is in his fifth year with the team after being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Texans, has had to deal with adversity since entering the league, having had three head coaches and four offensive coordinators during that span. After two years of being the starter, Houston drafted Stroud to be the franchise quarterback.
Yet, the change of going from starter to backup never shook Mills’ confidence as he continued to practice and prepare as if he was starting the game each week, which is something that offensive lineman Tytus Howard has admired about Mills.
“Davis [Mills] is as poised as they come,” said Howard, who has played with Mills his entire career. “He is going to be the same all the time, whether good or bad. You are not going to see him down or overexcited. He is the calm in the storm.”
As the Texans prepare to face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and with Stroud still in concussion protocol, Mills will make his second straight start, a feat he hasn’t achieved since 2022. He does so knowing he can help lead his team to a .500 record (4-5) for the first time this season.
If he helps lead them to victory, he may flash another smile like he did after the win in Jacksonville, something teammate Kamari Lassiter witnessed for the first time in his NFL career.
“I hadn’t seen Davis [Mills] smile in the two years I have been here,” said Lassiter. “I hope as long as he plays until C.J. [Stroud] comes back, we keep seeing it after the game, which means we won.”