Follow us:

How hot is David Culley's seat: 3. Warm seat

The Texans have just three wins this season -- two against the lowly Jaguars -- and likely won't even get the No. 1 overall pick. Culley admitted during Monday's news conference that general manager Nick Caserio instructed him to let the Patriots score as they approached the red zone back in Week 5 to give Houston's offense a chance to reply with more time on the clock instead of 15 seconds -- which the Texans coach said he "didn't compute." If Caserio has that much say over in-game strategy, it's fair to wonder if he thinks it's worth having Culley stay on as head coach. Caserio might already have his mind made up regarding 2022, and it's very possible that it doesn't include Culley. -- Sarah Barshop

When is a win actually a loss? Ask members of the Texans front office, who would probably admit over drinks at the holiday party that Sunday's 30-16 victory over the Jaguars counted as a substantial setback for the organization. Houston swept the season series from Jacksonville, an act of bad-team-on-bad-team crime that pretty much ensures the Texans won't have the No. 1 overall pick come April. Meanwhile, they're going to produce a 30 for 30 doc one day about Brandin Cooks' 1,000-yard season for the 2021 Houston Texans. What if I told you ...

They have to be encouraged by the play of Davis Mills at quarterback the past two weeks. He's making things interesting in terms of a future decision.

Long-departed Mark Ingram II is still Houston's leading rusher in 2021 ... with 294 yards.

Our gift to you: A smooth, healthy audition for Davis Mills down the stretch. The third-round rookie out of Stanford is probably not the quarterback of the post-Deshaun Watson future for the Texans, but his performance over the Jaguars should leave Houston eager to create the best platform it can to evaluate Mills in the next three weeks and see where he might fit among the options for the position in 2022.