Can T.J. Yates Be Texans' Answer at QB This Season?

The Houston Texans offense was looking like, well, the Houston Texans offense through much of its Week 10 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Houston came into its Monday Night Football contest ranked 29th in the NFL in total offense, and it played like it with Brian Hoyer under center. Consider what the team was able to accomplish on offense with Hoyer as its signal-caller.

Splits	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	Total
Passing	9 YDS	62 YDS	51 YDS	122 YDS
Rushing	18 YDS	22 YDS	21 YDS	61 YDS
Total	27	84	72	183
Points Scored	0	3	0	3

In a marquee matchup against an undefeated Bengals squad, Hoyer did little to help the Texans, and when he eventually left the game with a concussion the 30-year-old held this stat line: 12-of-22, 123 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT, 51.9 passer rating. That's not good.

Fortunately, his backup, T.J. Yates, came in and picked up the pieces.

Yates entered the game with just 2:21 remaining in the third quarter. The 28-year-old proceeded to lead his team on a nine play, 79-yard drive in which he went 3-of-5 for 52 yards passing and a touchdown.

The drive, which lasted 3:01 and brought the two teams into the fourth quarter, was capped off by a touchdown on a perfectly placed ball to star wideout DeAndre Hopkins, and it gave the Texans a 10-6 lead—one they'd hold for the rest of the game.

Though Yates didn't lead the team on any type of barn-burning run in his time under center, the team did log a total of 97 yards in just over 17 minutes of game time. Conversely, under Hoyer's command the team managed 183 yards in just over 42 minutes of play.

Yates took over an offense that had zero momentum, had punted or been intercepted in each of its previous four possessions, and had scored just three points all game, and he led it to a much-needed victory over a previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals team.

Sure that was impressive. But can he do it moving forward?

Coming into tonight's game, Hoyer ranked as the 19th-best player at his position according to the fine folks over at Profootballfocus.com. In short, Hoyer has been not good.

Assuming Yates gets the opportunity to start moving forward, he'll have ample opportunity to prove he's the answer to the Texans' quarterback dilemma. 

Consider the defenses Yates would face the rest of the way.

Week	Opponent	Total Defense Ranking	PYDS/G	PYDS/G Ranking
11	Jets	6th	230.3	9th
12	Saints	32nd	293.1	30th
13	@Bills	16th	252.1	18th
14	Patriots	15th	255.6	22nd
15	@Colts	27th	279.3	28th
16	@Titans	7th	213.8	3rd
17	Jaguars	19th	268.4	24th

Over their remaining seven games, Yates and the Texans will face just two teams that rank in the top half of the league in passing defense. Though he's been on the bench for much of the season—he was even let go by the Falcons during heir final round of cuts—Yates has the ability to lead the Texans through this upcoming stretch of games.

During his first stint with the Texans (2011-13), Yates averaged just 85 yards per game through the air over 13 games. That's nothing to write home about, but it's important to note he started just five of those 13 games.

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Look past the overall numbers though and you'll see that in 2011, Yates helped deliver a division title to Houston, and even netted the squad a playoff victory over this same Cincinnati Bengals team.

In that year, Yates averaged 158.2 yards passing per game and an 80.7 quarterback rating. It's not great, but it's adequate when you consider the fact the Texans will run up against some shoddy defenses in terms of defending the pass.

It's an indisputable fact Yates isn't the ideal quarterback for the Texans as they hope to edge out the Indianapolis Colts for an AFC South title, but he's proven in the past he's at least adequate enough to get the Texans a win on a given day.

Then you have today, when Yates took an underperforming offense and led it to a win over an extremely talented Bengals team. When asked about his quarterback, coach Bill O'Brien had this to say about Yates' performance:

Yates performed well when thrust into the spotlight, and that should instill a sense of confidence in the veteran QB as they come up against some shoddy defenses in the coming weeks. Throw in the fact Yates has reportedly helped change the culture of the Texans locker room, and you have a quarterback built to impact the team's offense in a positive manner.

Positive influence in the locker room, check. Delivered a major victory when relieving the team's injured starter, check. Prior history including a division title and a playoff victory, check.

Sounds like a recipe for success in Houston.

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