To round off the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs, the Houston Texans will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight at 8:15 p.m. EST on ESPN/ABC. C.J. Stroud is the starting quarterback for the Texans, but what happens if he gets injured? Here’s a look at Houston’s quarterback depth chart.
Who Is C.J. Stroud’s Backup?
On the Texans’ depth chart, Stroud is obviously the starter, and then the second-string quarterback is Davis Mills, followed by rookie Graham Mertz as the team’s third-string quarterback.
However, Mills did not travel with the team, leaving fans to speculate what happened. It was revealed that Mills did not travel with the team because he and his wife welcomed their newborn child.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport revealed Mills’ status for the game, posting the following on social media: “#Texans backup QB Davis Mills, whose wife just had a baby, will travel to tonight’s game and be availability against the #Steelers. Mills stayed an extra night at home.”
#Texans backup QB Davis Mills, whose wife just had a baby, will travel to tonight’s game and be availability against the #Steelers. Mills stayed an extra night at home.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2026
If Stroud were injured, Mertz would’ve come in to the game tonight. However, this is no longer the case. Mills will be available off the bench tonight.
In the PFSN Quarterback Impact Metric (QBi) this season, Stroud ranks 19th in the league with an impact score of 76.2 for a letter grade of C. This season, Stroud completed 64.5% of passes for 3041 passing yards and 19 touchdowns, while having eight interceptions. He’s also rushed 48 times for 209 yards and one touchdown.
Comparatively, Mills ranks 38th in QBi this season, with an impact score of 63.8, earning a letter grade of D. He started three games during the season. At the same time, Stroud was injured, but played in a total of five.
This season, he completed 58.7% of passes for 879 passing yards and five touchdowns, while only having one interception. He also rushed 13 times for 60 yards and one touchdown. He was the team’s third-round pick in 2021 and has been with them since.
Lastly, Mertz was drafted by the team in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the 197th overall pick; however, he hasn’t recorded any stats this season.
He played in 50 games during his college career, completing 64.7% of passes for 9099 yards and 64 touchdowns while throwing 31 interceptions. Mertz spent his college career at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to the University of Florida.
