Davis Mills throws TD pass: Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith wanted Mills to come out of the halftime locker room and play one more series, with the hope that the 2nd year quarterback would have some success and end his pre-season on a high note.
Davis Mills did just that, throwing a touchdown pass to Chris to help the Texans beat the San Francisco 49ers 17-0 on Thursday night.
“We just wanted to come out and put together a good drive and put up some points,” Davis Mills said. “And that’s what we did.”
Davis Mills was 6 for 10 for 58 yards with an interception. He played the entire first half and the first drive of the second half, finishing off his night with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Mills Moore.
Mills Moore’s 2nd-quarter interception hit the hands of Moore in the end zone, but was deflected by Samuel Womack III and picked off by Tarvarius Moore.
San Francisco beginning quarterback Trey Lance was 7 for 11 for 49 yards on three scoreless drives. Two of the drives finished in dropkicks and one finished on downs. Lance was scrambling from the Houston pass rush on a significant number of his plays and was sacked once.
“Some ups and downs, for sure,” Lance said. “It never feels good to lose, but I will learn from it and move on. I’m not going to make a deal out of it more than we need to. It was definitely not our best day, but as I said, we’re not going to make too big a deal out of it.”
Backup 49ers quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld and Brock Purdy both tossed a capture attempt.
“It was pretty rugged, we didn’t play well,” 49ers coach Shanahan said. “I think we fight to stop the run on that first drive, which is hard. When we did play good defense, I thought we had a few bad penalties that kept them on the field.
“Offensively, just way too many penalties. But it was also defense and special teams. I just thought we fight to execute. It was careless play, and I wish it would have been clean.”
Houston took a 7-0 lead when rookie 4th-round pick running back Dameon Pierce scored on a one-yard run that capped off a lengthy drive on the Texans’ 1st possession. Pierce is listed behind veteran running backs Marlon and Rex on the depth chart but he started Thursday night.
“ Pierce has been that way every time we’ve given him the ball,” Smith said. “He’s a very good football player.”
Marlon Mack had 10 rushes for 55 yards, and Rex Burkhead had 10 carries for 28 yards.
Smith didn’t go as far as to say Dameon Pierce would be the Week 1 starter, just saying that the team will announce starters soon.
Houston rookie safety Pitre, a second-round pick, had five tackles, including one for a loss.
Texans kicker Matt Ammendola made a 45-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter to put Houston up 17-0. Matt Ammendola later missed from 31 yards. Veteran kicker Ka’imi was sidelined with an injury so the Texans signed Matt Ammendola for the pre-season finale.
“We have a long ways to go still, but when you keep score, of course, you want to score points as often as you can,” Lovie Smith said. “And defensively, whenever you can get a shutout, that’s big.”
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
Houston Texans 1st round draft picks cornerback Stingley Jr., taken 3rd overall, and left guard Kenyon Green, the 15th pick, both played in the game, with Stingley starting and Green taking reps with the second team.
INJURIES
Two San Francisco 2nd-string linebackers suffered with injuries in the first half. Oren Burks suffered with a knee injury and Curtis Robinson suffered with an ankle injury. Defensive tackle Akeem Spence was evaluated for a concussion. Texans defensive tackle Roy Lopez was sidelined with a “soft tissue injury,” Lovie Smith said and is expected to play Week one.
About Davis Mills
Davis Mills was born on October 21, 1998, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Texans franchise records
- Most passing yards in a season by a rookie: 2,664 (2021)
- Highest completion percentage in a season by a rookie: 66.8% (2021