Will Ryan Mallett be the quarterback to start for Houston Texans in their game against the Carolina Panthers in week two?

In the fourth quarter of this Sunday's battle against the Kansas City Chiefs, Mallet took care of the position held by Texans' starting quarterback Brian Hoyer, reported NFL.com.

Hoyer, who turned over the ball twice, felt embarrassed of his play and seemed to understand why he was taken off the field, Houston Chronicle informed.

"That's Coach's decision, and I can see why he did that. It couldn't have gone any worse, you know what I mean. Obviously, I feel terrible. I feel like I let this whole entire organization down. It just went from bad to worse. I really just couldn't fight back," Hoyer said.

"I respect the hell out of him [Coach Bill] and whatever he feels is best for the team I think that's what he will do," the Ohio-born player added.

Will this game be enough for Texans head coach Bill O' Brien to let Mallett be the starter for their showdown with the Panthers next Sunday?

The Houston team's mentor is still mum on the issue, as informed by Houston Chronicle's John McClain via Twitter.

Yet, his cryptic statement after the game against the Chiefs was enough to make both Hoyer and Mallet, not to mention their massive fan base, to wonder.

"I'm going to 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," O'Brien said, as quoted by NFL.com.

O'Brien should probably observe if Hoyer would want to pick himself up after his poor performance last time. If he continues to feel bad about it, then he might as well let Mallet take over first for the good of the team, rather than drag them down. Moreover, he could exert more effort on himself and promise to deliver a stellar and praise-worthy performance come Sunday. If his attitude seems optimistic, O'Brien may give him that fair second chance to prove himself.

On the other hand, Mallett, the backup quarterback is ready to be called anytime, whether in Week 2 or farther down the road, the Chronicle noted.

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

Mallet improved Sunday's score against the Chiefs from 27-9 to 27-20 when he entered, with a touchdown, a two-point conversion and "a field goal drive," ESPN noted.