Ryan Fitzpatrick Announced as Texans' Starting QB in Week 13 vs. Titans

After Ryan Mallett suffered torn pectoral muscles in Week 12, the Houston Texans are reverting back to veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to be their starting quarterback.    

Head coach Bill O'Brien announced the decision Wednesday ahead of Week 13's AFC South matchup with the Tennessee Titans, per the Texans' official Twitter account:

Fitzpatrick is a career journeyman who has never had sustained success as a starter. Other members of Houston's QB depth chart include another nomad in Thaddeus Lewis, who just signed with Houston this week, and raw, rookie fourth-round draft pick Tom Savage.

O'Brien also discussed the battle to be Fitzpatrick's primary backup for the time being:

This is not a promising situation for a team that has a playoff-caliber defense and running game. Although none of the top signal-callers in the 2014 NFL draft class has looked spectacular to date, one has to wonder what a reputed QB guru like O'Brien could have done with one of them if the Texans went that route.

Instead, the team has gotten next to nothing out of No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, has still managed to have a respectable, 11th-ranked scoring defense and has not solved the vital issue under center.

Yahoo Sports' Eric Edholm referenced how underwhelming Clowney has been in his analysis of the Texans:

With a 7.72 yards-per-attempt average, a touchdown-interception ratio of 11-to-8 and an 87.1 passer rating, Fitzpatrick hasn't been an abject disaster this season. However, he wasn't playing at a high enough level to avoid being benched.

Now Houston finds itself further outside the playoff picture than it would like due to its overall negligence of the most important position and some untimely injury misfortune for Mallett.