Texans Will Start Kyle Allen at Quarterback, Lovie Smith Confirms

Lovie Smith announced Friday the team has made a change under center heading into Sunday.

After suggesting the possibility of a quarterback change earlier this week, Texans coach Lovie Smith confirmed Friday the team has elected to name a new starter for Week 12.

Smith told reporters quarterback Kyle Allen will take over for Davis Mills under center on Sunday for the Texans’ game against the Dolphins in Miami. The announcement comes just a few days after Smith refused to commit to Mills, a 2021 third-round pick, going forward and admitted the rebuilding Texans (1–8–1) needed to do things differently following a 23–10 Week 11 loss to the Commanders. 

“To become a starter, we feel you give us the best chance to win. That’s why we’re in this situation now,” Smith said of the decision, per Aaron Wilson of Texans Daily. “I feel like when a guy is the starter he should have an opportunity to show what he is.

“I feel like we have a body of work to go into it this way for this Miami game. What gives us the best chance to win against Miami? It’s short-term. This decision is based on that. This is what we think we need to do for this game.”

Houston deciding to replace Mills with Allen, who has yet to appear in a game this season, marks a difficult turning point for the second-year QB as he has continued to struggle following a subpar rookie year.

Against Washington, Mills completed 19-of-33 pass attempts for 169 yards and two interceptions while taking five sacks. The 24-year-old enters Week 12 with 2,144 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and a completion rate of 61.9% (203/328)

With Mills out of the picture for the time being, Sunday will be all about Allen, 26, as the former Panthers and Commanders QB prepares to make his first start since Week 9 in 2020 when he was with Washington. In his 17 career games as a starter, 13 of which came with Carolina in 2019, Allen has compiled 3,865 yards, 23 TDs and 16 INTs and a 7-10 record.

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