Eric Prisbell

USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON — Brian Hoyer isn't surprised when he faces adversity.

He's more surprised when he doesn't.

So when he was replaced as the Houston Texans' starting quarterback after opening day and later suffered two concussions during the team's uneven season, he viewed them as merely the latest chapters in a sports career defined by hardship.

He felt anger and disappointment over the benching, and Hoyer acknowledges it "wasn't the best" of times in his relationship with Texans coach Bill O'Brien, who also coached Hoyer when both were with the New England Patriots.

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But if Hoyer has a hallmark, it's resiliency.

"Sports kind of parallels life," Hoyer told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "I look at it like, if this is the worst thing that happens to me in my life, my life is probably going to be OK."

Hoyer, 30, is a fitting starter for a Texans team that overcame its own topsy-turvy season, rallying from a 2-5 start to win the AFC South. Houston is preparing to host the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) in Saturday's wild-card game.

Hoyer still recalls redshirting at Michigan State only to see the team bring in another quarterback the next spring to compete with him for the backup role. He went undrafted, was signed by the Patriots but cut after playing sparingly behind Tom Brady for three seasons.

The kid from suburban Cleveland was then given a chance to start for the Browns. But after playing well, he blew out his knee, rehabbed and then watched the franchise draft Johnny Manziel. He played ahead of Manziel, then was benched. After arriving in Houston this season, he played, then was benched again.

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Among those who reached out to Hoyer during this season's adversity was Brady. For any significant achievement or setback, Hoyer said, Brady has always been among the first to contact him. He said Brady told him to "hang tough, keep his head up and stay ready."

"I just had a feeling that at some point, it would come back to me," Hoyer said of the starting quarterback role. "And when it did, I had to be ready to go."

O'Brien has since acknowledged that his move to bench Hoyer for Ryan Mallett, who was later released, was a mistake. O'Brien said Wednesday that "as a leader, you have to be able to sit there and tell the truth to your players."

After suffering his first concussion in the Texans' Nov. 16 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hoyer suffered another Dec. 13 in a loss to New England. He missed two games while in the concussion protocol before returning to the field Sunday in the AFC South-clinching victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During his recovery, Hoyer said, he reached out to those he trusted who had suffered concussions, including some individuals who were forced to retire or sit out an entire season. He said he wasn't having the more severe symptoms.

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"With how it's covered in the media, and with the movie (Concussion) out — don't get me wrong, it's a very important issue — but I put in the research, talked to the right people," said Hoyer, who started nine of the 11 games he played in this season. "It has become this thing, you get concussions and you are going to have depression, have anxiety, kill yourself. I think there are other sides to it.

"You look at guys like Troy Aikman and Steve Young," added Hoyer, referencing Hall of Famers who had suffered concussions during their careers. "They are analyzing football games on live TV. I am good where I am at."

Hoyer enters the playoffs just as he started the season: as the team's starting quarterback, the first time he's had that role for a playoff team during his seven-year NFL career.

As for everything in between?

"Crazy," he said.

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Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell

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