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Houston Texans: Should Ryan Mallett Start in Week 2?

By Joel Childers

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The Houston Texans did not look excellent in their season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. From kicker Randy Bullock‘s missed extra point on, the team couldn’t seem to find rhythm, falling behind 27-6 in the second quarter. Then, trailing 27-9 in the fourth quarter, backup quarterback Ryan Mallett came in to replace starter Brian Hoyer. He lead the team on two scoring drives, including tossing a touchdown and a two point conversion to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

The story this offseason in Houston, and one of the major themes of HBO’s Hard Knocks, was the quarterback battle between Hoyer and Mallett. The two were extremely close all offseason, and Hoyer was only named the starter a few short weeks ago, after the team’s second preseason game.

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Houston Head Coach Bill O’Brien made it clear that the competition was extremely close, but also maintained that Hoyer would not be on a short leash. This makes it seem strange that O’Brien would bench Hoyer in the season opener, but Mallett’s performance makes us think that perhaps Mallett will supplant Hoyer as the starter in Week 2.

Hoyer struggled through the first three quarters of Sunday’s game, completing 18-of-34 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also gave up the football via a fumble when he was sacked by Kansas City defensive lineman Justin Houston. The worst of it is, both of Hoyer’s turnovers came when Houston was deep on its own side of the field, and both lead to Kansas City touchdowns.

By contrast, Mallett completed four of his first six passes on his opening drive, which ended in an excellent eight-yard touchdown throw to DeAndre Hopkins, as well as the ensuing two-point conversion. After a defensive stop by the Texans, Mallett then drove his team down again for a field goal that put Houston within one score of the Chiefs.

As always, it’s impossible to know if Hoyer would have had similar success in that point of the game, but the team looked very different under each of these two guys. The biggest noticeable difference between Hoyer and Mallett was Mallett’s willingness to push the ball downfield with his arm. Hoyer seemed more inclined to hit short patterns, whereas Mallett was constantly looking vertically, trying for a big play.

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Ryan Mallett’s arm talent has never been a question. He has a huge arm, and can make all of the throws. This was clear on Sunday, as on his touchdown pass to Hopkins and the following 2-point conversion he was able to fire a fastball exactly where it needed to be.

The big question with Mallett, however, is his consistency, and this was also evident on Sunday. On several occasion Mallett missed an open receiver by just a few inches, but because of the speed at which the ball was traveling, his receivers had no chance to adjust to the pass. The final score may have looked very different if Mallett had been able to make an extra throw or two late in the fourth quarter.

Hoyer, on the other hand looked much more conservative, partially due to the fact that he simply doesn’t have the arm strength Mallett has. He lacked confidence on downfield throws, and also was unable to take care of the football. Going back to last season, Sunday was Mallett’s sixth straight game with an interception. Sunday’s performance lead his coach to question if he will retain the starting job.

"“I’m going to go in there and watch the tape and make an honest evaluation and make a decision one way or the other going into the Carolina game,” said Bill O’Brien (via NFL.com’s Marc Sessler)"

It seems as though the quarterback competition is alive and well in Houston, despite the coaching staff’s statements to the contrary. After their performance in the season opener, it seems as though Mallett may put the Texans in a better chance to win games than Hoyer will.

With a dominant pass-catcher like DeAndre Hopkins, what the quarterback needs to do is get the ball downfield and let the receiver make the play. Mallett seems much more equipped for this, and also seems to have a better connection with Hopkins. Hoyer was 4-of-8 for 27 yards, one touchdown and one interception when targeting Hopkins. Mallett was 5-of-5 for 59 yards and 1 touchdown when trying to connect with his star.

All told, 38 percent of Mallett’s pass attempts and 60 percent of his yards were to Hopkins, as opposed to only 24 percent of Hoyer’s attempts and 11 percent of his yards. Mallett is deserving of a chance to start if only due to his ability to get DeAndre Hopkins involved in the offseason, undoubtedly the team’s best offensive skill player with running back Arian Foster still sidelined with an injury.

I have been a big supporter of Mallett all offseason, and believe that if given the chance he can be a successful NFL quarterback. After Sunday’s season opener, Mallett showed me once again that he is a better option than Brian Hoyer.

With Arian Foster out, the team needs the high-octane offensive spark only Mallett can provide, and once Foster returns, having Mallett’s big arm as a downfield threat will be a great complement to the threat of Foster on the ground. Hopefully Bill O’Brien will give Mallett a chance to prove himself as the starter in Week 2 against Carolina.

Next: Could Arian Foster Play in Week 2?

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