Since his return off the Reserve/Injured list, Tyrod Taylor has thrown two touchdown passes, rushed for two touchdowns and thrown three interceptions. After Sunday's 21-14 loss to the New York Jets, Head Coach David Culley re-emphasized the 11-year veteran's status when healthy.
"He's the starter," Culley said.
Taylor has one of the league's lowest career interception percentage currently at 1.57 percent (top five among active quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,000 pass attempts). After throwing three interceptions in his Week 9 return at Miami, Taylor bounced back with two rushing touchdowns and no turnovers with his performance in Houston's 22-13 win against the Tennessee Titans.
"Honestly, as a competitor, anytime you lose, it's tough," Taylor said last week. "You beat yourself up about it. I'm probably my biggest critic. My parents will tell you that, the coaches will tell you that. So obviously, getting the bad taste out of your mouth, you want to play the next week. We got a Bye Week, so I had a chance to process it, learn from it and made sure that I put it behind me. Didn't let it linger until the next week. I think that's just all about being a professional."
Taylor missed six games this season with a hamstring injury after leaving the Week 2 game at Cleveland with a 14-14 score at halftime. Rookie Davis Mills came off the bench and went on to start six games in Taylor's absence, completing 67 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns, eight interceptions and an 80.2 passer rating. Culley said that Mills could see more time this year, but only if Taylor is unavailable.
"If something happens to Tyrod, you could see him (Mills)," Culley said.
In his most recent game, Taylor threw for 158 yards, the most since he came off IR, and completed a single-game season-high 65.4 percent of his passes, including two touchdowns. He also scrambled for a season-long 30-yard gain in the third quarter.
"The big thing we saw from the first half to the second half is that in the first half, our first two drives, we had back-to-back drive where we scored a touchdown because we executed," Culley said. "In the second half yesterday, there were times when guys were off a play here, a play there. They didn't do the right thing and it got us behind the sticks. When we get behind the sticks, it's tough for us to come back."
The Texans will host the Colts on December 5 at NRG Stadium in Week 13.Kickoff is set for noon CT. Click here for tickets
