It seems the Houston Texans are ready to make a change. Ryan Mallett, the promising young signal-caller who started the season as the No. 2 for head coach Bill O'Brien but entered the Texans season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs late and promptly led Houston on two scoring drive after starter Brian Hoyer struggled to get the offense moving, will start the Texans Week Two game against the Carolina Panthers, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
After the Chiefs game, O'Brien was asked if he knew which quarterback he'd roll with moving forward. He was evasive to say the least.
"I don't know," he said, via ESPN. "We'll review the film, and we will find out once we get into next week."
It seems O'Brien and Co. reviewed the film and decided they liked what they saw out of Mallett. With just over six minutes left in the Kansas City game, Mallett took over for Hoyer who had, to that point, completed 18 of 34 passes for 244 yards a touchdown, an interception and a passer rating of 74.0. Mallett, while he wasn't able to bring the Texans a victory, provided reason for optimism in Houston, tossing a touchdown to No. 1 wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, converting a two-point conversion and finishing his abbreviated day with a 110.4 passer rating.
The question of who would start at quarterback for the Texans and O'Brien lingered deep into the offseason, when O'Brien finally tabbed the steady, if unspectacular Hoyer as his guy. Unfortunately - or, depending on your perspective, perhaps fortunately - Hoyer struggled early and Mallett was given an opportunity to stake his claim to the job. It seems to be a claim that may last. At least for one more week.
