He had to wait three and a half years, but in Week 11, Ryan Mallett finally made his highly anticipated first NFL, and he impressed. Mallett led the Texans to victory with an efficient 211 yard and two touchdown performance, his 98.93 PFF QB Rating was the fourth-best of the week.
The Texans' simplified the offensive game plan somewhat, running an up-tempo run heavy offense, which featured quick reads for Mallett and even quicker passing. Mallett’s Average Time Per Pass Attempt was 2.06 seconds, faster than any other quarterback in the league. On 73.3% of his dropbacks Mallett released the ball in less than 2.5 seconds, completing 77.3% of his passes for a 123.1 NFL QB Rating when doing so. On the other hand, Mallett struggled when he had to hold the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds. His completion percentage plunged to 37.5%, and his NFL QB Rating to 31.3.
Mallett certainly justified his selection, but there will be tougher tests ahead in games where the ground attack (the Texans had 213 rushing yards against the Browns) stalls and Mallett really has to take control.
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