After Win Over Browns, Ryan Mallett Says ‘We’re On to Cincinnati’
Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett won the “Brady Backup Bowl’’ on Sunday, and after the game, he took a page from his old head coach.
“We’re on to Cincinnati, if that sounds familiar,’’ the quarterback said in his postgame press conference, as the Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The line was of course in reference to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who uttered the now-famous phrase in a press conference after the Patriots were blown out 41-14 by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, answering five questions the media threw at him with, “We’re on to Cincinnati.’’
Mallett had to wait four years to get his first NFL start, sitting behind Tom Brady for three seasons in New England before being traded to the Texans at the end of the 2014 preseason. He began the year as the No. 2 behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, but after going 4-5 to start the season, Mallett was named the starter for their Week 11 matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
You wouldn’t have known it was Mallett’s first NFL start the way he played, completing 20 of 30 pass attempts for 211 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for a quarterback rating of 95.3. His first NFL touchdown pass went to an unlikely source: defensive end J.J. Watt, who had come in as an eligible receiver and made a catch so great that you would have sworn it was Rob Gronkowski in a Texans uniform.
What’s more impressive about the way Mallett led the team was how he did it without Houston’s greatest offensive threat. Star running back Arian Foster, who has rushed for 822 yards in eight games this season, was inactive due to a groin injury.
The Houston run game wasn’t slowed by the absence of Foster, however, as Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes picked up the slack, rushing for 156 and 54 yards, respectively.
The 5-5 Texans are now just one game back of the final playoff spot, but they’ve got a ton of teams to leapfrog in order to get into that spot, including the Dolphins, Chargers, Ravens, Steelers, and Browns. They also trail the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts by just a game, but lost their previous meeting with one matchup left to play.
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