After a quick start, Texans starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has struggled recently, giving backup quarterback Ryan Mallett his best opportunity to start in his four-year NFL career.
The former Arkansas quarterback, who spent his first three seasons as Tom Brady's backup in New England before being traded to Houston in the preseason, has attempted only four pass attempts in the regular season.
He has as many completions as interceptions, with one each, but he feels like he is ready to lead the Texans.
"I’m staying focused for when the time comes," Mallett tweeted after Houston's 31-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. "Seize the opportunity #justwaiting”
The tweet has been deleted and Mallett tweeted again Monday morning, saying, “Don’t misinterpret my last tweet. I’m not calling to be the starter. Frustrations of losing. I play my role. I am a team player first. Always.”
Fitzpatrick completed 68.3 percent of his passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the Texans to a 2-0 start, but since has completed only 60.6 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns and eight interceptions as Houston has dropped to 4-5 on the season.
Even more telling of Fitzpatrick's struggles is his Total QBR, a statistic created by ESPN in 2011 that rates a quarterback on a scale of 0 to 100, with a 100 being perfect, 50 being average and 0 being terrible.
In the first two games, he posted a Total QBR of 74.8 and 92.0. In the seven games since, Fitzpatrick has eclipsed 50 just once (64.8 in Week 7) and his season Total QBR has dropped to 45.3, which ranks 27th out of 31 qualifying quarterbacks.
Another contributing factor to a possible start by Mallett is the Texans bye week, which would give him an extra week to prepare. Also, Mallett is playing in the last year of his contract, so Houston needs to know what he can do.
"If ever there were a time when (Houston head coach Bill O’Brien) would consider making a quarterback change, you’d have to figure this would be it," ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said on NFL Live Monday. "Keep in mind, Ryan Mallett is in the last year of his contract. The Houston Texans need to figure out exactly what he can and can’t do during the course of a game.
"He’s got a big arm. He can certainly put up a lot of numbers. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been steady for the Houston Texans, but at some point here, they might want to get a look at Ryan Mallett with them having lost five of their last seven games after that quick start."
Four former Razorbacks (Green Bay Packers' Brett Goode, Buffalo Bills' Chris Gragg, Detroit Lions' Travis Swanson and Tennessee Titans' George Wilson) did not play because their teams had byes, but here's a look at how the other 10 that were on NFL 53-man rosters performed in Week 9.
Alvin Bailey - Seattle Seahawks
Making his first career start, Bailey played all 81 of the Seahawks' offensive snaps in their 30-24 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Knile Davis - Kansas City Chiefs
Davis had only three carries for nine yards in the Chiefs' 24-10 win over the New York Jets. He also had one kickoff return for 27 yards.
Jerry Franklin - Kansas City Chiefs
In that same game, Franklin suffered a strained hamstring and did not record any stats.
Nate Garner - Miami Dolphins
Despite a nagging neck injury, Garner played in the Dolphins' 37-0 win over the San Diego Chargers.
Peyton Hillis - New York Giants
Hillis accounted for 70 yards of offense on only nine touches in the Giants' 40-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. That is an average of 7.8 yards per touch. He had 20 yards on four carries and 50 yards on five receptions.
Darren McFadden - Oakland Raiders
McFadden accounted for 67 yards of offense on 17 touches in the Raiders' 30-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He led Oakland with 20 rushing yards on 13 carries and 47 receiving yards on four catches.
Jason Peters - Philadelphia Eagles
Peters played all 83 of the Eagles' offensive snaps in their 31-21 win over the Houston Texans, but that's not why he drew headlines across the country. Instead, he got attention for what he said after the game about backup quarterback Mark Sanchez.
"I didn't even know (Nick) Foles was out," Peters told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Saw the bomb to Maclin, and I turned to congratulate him and it was Sanchez."
Kiero Small - Cleveland Browns
In his second game since being added to Cleveland's 53-man roster, Small received significant playing time again, playing 32 of 67 offensive snaps in the Browns' 22-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He helped clear a path for a running back that led to a fourth-and-one conversion on a touchdown drive and nearly added a two-point conversion reception, but a Buccaneers safety made a great play to break up the pass.
Chris Smith - Jacksonville Jaguars
Smith was credited with half of a sack in the Jaguars' 33-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jarius Wright - Minnesota Vikings
Wright caught two passes for 29 yards in the Vikings' 29-26 win over the Washington Redskins.