Well, that wasn't how the Houston Texans drew it up. They might not have thought new quarterback Brian Hoyer was going to lead them to the promised land, but they had to have thought he'd make it further than the fourth quarter of Week 1 before being benched. The Texans went to backup Ryan Mallett to finish out their 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday.
Brian Hoyer benched already; Ryan Mallett offers similarly low fantasy upside
Not much went well for the Texans to start their season. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Hoyer finished 18-of-34 passing for 236 yards. He threw a touchdown and an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked four times. Mallett, in less than a quarter of play, completed eight passes for 13 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once, but also connected with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a garbage time score.
Fantasy impact: This can't have been the biggest surprise in the world. Hoyer is in his seventh year with only a handful of starts, fewer wins and exactly as many touchdown passes as interceptions. Still, the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns thought there was reason for some faith in Hoyer even before the Texans did.
Texans coach Bill O'Brien wouldn't say after the game whether Hoyer's benching would last into Week 2. If we're being genuine here, it doesn't really matter -- Mallett doesn't offer much more upside than Hoyer does. The Texans will largely be rearranging deck chairs at that position until running back Arian Foster returns and gives defenses something else to think about.
