What do you make of Lovie Smith’s decision to go with Kyle Allen?
The Texans will finally make a shift at quarterback Sunday ahead of their Week 12 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. The Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander and Brooks Kubena discuss that and more topics ahead of Sunday’s game:
Kubena: This is a sensible decision. Davis Mills has struggled consistently enough to warrant a quarterback change. He’s thrown for more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (9) in his last eight starts, his 78.1 passer rating ranks 34th among all qualified quarterbacks, and he’s completed just 59.8 completion percentage on Houston’s cumulative opening three drives this season. Lovie Smith said Friday that this is a “short-term” decision. Mills could return at quarterback at some point this season if Allen struggles or if Mills corrects the myriad kinks that led to his benching. Smith said “everything’s short-term with where we are.” That’s disputable for a 1-8-1 team that’s searching for a long-term answer at quarterback and currently wields the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick. This is a significant signal that the Texans will be acquiring a new QB in the offseason. Mills would have to exceptionally (and quickly) improve by the end of the year for that to change.
Alexander: It was the right decision and probably one that came a week or two, too late. Mills, who leads the NFL with 11 interceptions, hasn’t truly had a great game all season. His best game was against the Las Vegas Raiders and even that resulted in an 18-point loss. Mills isn’t the answer, and I’m not saying Kyle Allen is. But what’s the harm in seeing what he can do? What message are you sending to your team when you keep playing the same people and hoping things will change? Lovie Smith and Pep Hamilton, perhaps feeling some pressure, realized they weren’t and made the change. It was the right one. Allen has a history of winning games. He was 5-7 as a starter with the Panthers during the 2019 season. He passed for 17 touchdowns. The biggest challenge for Allen is taking care of the football. At times, he was careless. He threw 16 interceptions and lost seven fumbles in 2019.