Both quarterbacks on the Texans 53-man roster played Sunday in the 27-20 loss to the Chiefs.
Starter Brian Hoyer threw a touchdown pass and led the Texans on a field goal drive, but was also picked off and sacked four times. On one of those sacks, he coughed the ball up and Kansas City recovered deep in Houston territory.
Backup Ryan Mallett's first drive, meanwhile, took six plays, 44 yards and burned just 2:03 off the clock in the fourth quarter. He also took the offense down the field on a possession that resulted in a Randy Bullock field goal. On the day, he completed 8-of-13 passes for 98 yards.
After the defeat, Bill O'Brien was asked about his signal callers, and he said it's too early to make any decisions on who starts next Sunday at Carolina.
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"I don't know yet," the head coach said. "I'll 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."
Hoyer, who wound up with 236 yards on 18-of-34 passing, was disappointed in his performance.
"It couldn't have gone any worse you know what I mean," Hoyer said. "Obviously, I feel terrible. I feel like I let this whole entire organization down. It just went from bad to worse."
Hoyer tossed a four-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins for a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. He also led the Texans on a field goal drive at the end of the first half. He was sacked four times on the afternoon.
Left tackle Duane Brown pointed out that both quarterbacks "did some good things" against Kansas City, but ultimately, he and the offensive line needed to play better as well.
"We just have to continue to do better up front to let them operate efficiently," Brown said.
Despite what happened in Sunday's game, Mallett said nothing's different for him this week.
"Like I said before, I'm going to prepare every week like the starter, whether that's the case or not," Mallett said. "That's the only thing I can do to help this football team win games. That's why I'm here. That's all I care about."
Hoyer, Mallett and the Texans will work on Monday. Tuesday is the player day off, and the Texans will practice Wednesday through Friday at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
Take a look at photos from Sunday's matchup with the Chiefs.
