Texans head coach Bill O’Brien announced Monday the team has named Brian Hoyer as its starting quarterback, beating out Ryan Mallett for the job.
Texans name Brian Hoyer starting QB
Hoyer started 13 games for the Browns in 2014 and signed with the Texans in March to compete for the starting quarterback job.
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“I felt like it was very important to give Brian the chance to run our offense all week, knowing that he was the starter going into this game,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also told the press he preferred Hoyer to Mallett because of the former’s superior game day experience.
O'Brien says he liked what Hoyer displayed on film in two-minute situations in games last year leading up to Browns vs. Texans.
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) August 24, 2015 There's no guarantee Hoyer will be the starter for all 16 games. Houston replaced its starting quarterback a couple of times last season, as Mallett originally replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick before Case Keenum took over for the final two games. O'Brien said he reminded Mallett of that as well.
O'Brien wants Mallett to continue his work ethic and be prepared to play. Says he gave Mallett the example of Fitzpatrick last year. #Texans
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) August 24, 2015 Hoyer, 29, split time with Mallett in each of the first two preseason games of the season for the Texans, starting the first game and coming in as a backup in the second, completing 9 of 15 pass attempts for 119 yards and one touchdown with zero interceptions. Mallett completed 15 of 18 pass attempts through the first two games for 113 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.
On Sunday, one day after the Houston offense scored just 10 points against the Broncos, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien explained what he's looking for in a starting quarterback.
“Again, it’ll come back to consistency, it’ll come back to game management, it’ll come back to situational football, who’s been the most consistent,” O’Brien said. “It’s something that we’re studying, we’re really evaluating, again really at every position, the awareness of what’s going on in the game, how they handle different situations.”
Both Hoyer and Mallett played for the New England Patriots when O'Brien was the team's offensive coordinator, although Mallett's first season in the NFL was O'Brien's last with the team. Hoyer spent three seasons with O'Brien in New England, but was cut just before the beginning of the 2012 season.
After brief stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, Hoyer led the Browns to three wins in three starts in 2013 before tearing his ACL and started 13 games the next season. He signed a two-year, $10.5 million contract with the Texans in March to compete for the starting quarterback job.
Mallett earned the first starting experience of his career in 2014 with the Texans, taking over for Ryan Fitzpatrick late in the year. In two starts he tallied 400 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, earning a win over the Cleveland Browns and a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He was acquired just before the beginning of the 2014 season for a conditional late-round draft pick.
Hoyer started strong in the 2014 season, throwing seven touchdowns and just one interception in the first five games of the season, leading the Browns to a 3-2 start. He had a few bad games though, including a 16-for-41 performance in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and eight interceptions with no touchdowns in his last three starts of the season before he was pulled and replaced by Johnny Manziel.
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