The quarterback controversy that has been discussed ad nauseam since the Texans signed Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett within a couple days of each other in March is finally over.

At least it should be.

Hoyer did his best to cough up the job in Sunday afternoon's debacle of a season opener, a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach Bill O'Brien said afterward he would watch the film, then "make a decision one way or the other."

Having already tried one way, he should opt for the other.

Starting Mallett at Carolina next Sunday wouldn't be a panic move. It would be the smart move.

O'Brien told us just a couple weeks ago the battle for the starting position was very close. If it was indeed that tight after a couple fake games, Mallett certainly seized the lead when he stepped onto the field Sunday and led the Texans to more points in the final six minutes than Hoyer had in the first 54.

Clearly, practice doesn't make perfect. Mallett overslept and missed one recently, and he still outperformed Hoyer.

Mallett was in charge of only two Texans drives, throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins on the first and taking them to a field goal on the second.

In 12 possessions through 31/2 quarters, Hoyer put up nine points for Houston and 14 for Kansas City, thanks to an interception and a fumble inside the Houston 15-yard line.

Too little, too late

"It's not wrong plays," said Mallett, who completed eight of 13 passes for 98 yards. "When I got into the game, it wasn't magic plays or whatever. We executed a little bit better, but we have to start off executing the game in the first quarter like that."

Don't take what Mallett said out of context. He wasn't finger-pointing.

Sure, he was upset - bothered not only that the Texans lost but by the fact he truly believes the game would have been won had he been on the field from the start - but he wisely took a team-first attitude.

Mallett's dedication has been questioned by the Texans' brass, including owner Bob McNair, who two weeks ago told Sports Radio 610 that the question about the hard-throwing 27-year-old is how seriously he takes the game.

Mallett bristled at the suggestion he doesn't put his all into the sport.

"I prepare just as hard as anybody in the league," Mallett said. "I'm going to keep continuing to do that. I take pride in my job. I take pride in being a Houston Texan. I'm going to give them everything I've got. Simple as that."

Mallett even said he might spend Sunday night at NRG Stadium, prepping for the Panthers.

It is O'Brien's job to determine if Hoyer or Mallett gives the Texans a better chance to win games.

Thus far this season, on the most important decision he has to make, O'Brien is 0-for-1.

From the start, when Hoyer and Hopkins had a "miscommunication" that led to an interception on the Texans' first offensive play, Hoyer was mostly ineffective. He finished with 18 completions in 34 attempts for 236 yards and was sacked four times, one of which he fumbled away at the Texans' 7.

"It just went from bad to worse," he said. "I really just couldn't fight back."

Hoyer was slow from under center, slow in pulling the trigger, and slow in getting away from pressure. He did make a few nice throws but hardly enough to make up for his mistakes.

While the Texans don't figure to need much offense to be a decent team, they can't have an offense that provides easy points for opponents.

Ordinarily, a single poor performance shouldn't cost a quarterback his job, but Hoyer isn't a youngster learning as he grows or a grizzled veteran trying to relight an old flame.

He is a journeyman signal-caller who performed Sunday pretty much as his career statistics indicated he should: below average.

Hoyer completed 52.9 percent of his throws, slightly below the 56.5 percent in his career, and had a passer rating of 72.7, just off his career rating of 76.8.

It was Hoyerible.

Mallett was crisp and decisive. The team displayed a different energy when he entered the game.

This isn't Hollywood

Hoyer's story of being an undrafted free agent released by four teams before the Texans gave him a shot would make for a great movie were he to become a star. But such scripts rarely come to life at the quarterback position in the NFL.

Sunday's story was a familiar one. He just isn't good enough.

He would be a good backup, though.

"I'm going to prepare every week like the starter, whether that's the case or not," Mallett said.

O'Brien created this quarterback controversy with an extended competition that probably wasn't the best thing for Mallett, Hoyer or the team.

If he is wise, he'll hand the ball to Mallett next week and hope that helps keep the Texans from falling to 0-2.