The Houston Texans entered Week 18 in need of just a loss to the Indianapolis Colts to officially clinch the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Texans quarterback Davis Mills, however, had other plans in mind.

Mills put together one of the best performances of his second season with the Texans, logging 298 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to go along with an 87.4 passer rating against Indianapolis. He also anchored the third game-winning drive of his campaign, as he led the offense to a 14-play, 83-yard touchdown drive in the late stages of the fourth quarter that was capped off with a successful 2-point attempt.

The Texans could have just thrown in the towel after they fell behind by a 28-24 score in the fourth quarter, but Smith entered the game with a win as his No. 1 priority, not the top pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

“Whenever you play, it's pretty simple, you play to win the game,” Smith said during his postgame press conference. “That's all the way down in our organization. … We understand what our win total is and that's not enough. That wasn't part of the plan. That's how it goes sometimes. … We wanted to leave the season with a good taste in our mouths.”

Smith’s future in Houston has been up in the air as of late. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Smith has touched base with team owner Cal McNair to “state his case for a second season.”

On Smith’s part, he expects to be back with the team for the 2023 campaign.

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“Yeah, I meet with Cal every Monday,” Smith said. “I met with him this past Monday. We talk about what's happening the last game. We understand the totality of the season of what's going on. Do I expect to be back? Yeah, I expect to be back, absolutely.”

A pivotal offseason now awaits the Texans in the coming month. They will have the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and they may have already started watching film on the likes of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and Ohio State passer C.J. Stroud.