Apparently, the 4-5 Houston Texans believe Ryan Mallett can be their fire starter.

“It’s time to put him out there and see what he can do,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said.

The first-year coach in Houston said after Sunday’s home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that he was searching for a “spark” and with the bye week to prepare for Week 11, O’Brien officially turned the offense over to Mallett, a former pupil of O’Brien’s in New England.

The Texans acquired Mallett for a conditional sixth-round pick from the Patriots in September.

“Watching Ryan in practice every day, I believe it’s gotten better and better,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “His huddle command, his knowledge of the offense, he’s been in this system for four years. He has made a lot of progress whereas he’s never played in a game or hasn’t had many reps in a game. We’re going to give him his shot to play.”

In the loss to Philadelphia, veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick was 13 of 27 for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception and was sacked four times. He also ran for 49 yards – the most by a Texans quarterback since 2003.

For the season, Fitzpatrick has 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 87.1. Since a 3-1 start, the Texans are 1-4.

The Texans’ offense continued to struggle with inconsistency and a lack of productivity from start to finish. Fitzpatrick misfired with receivers and doesn’t see others who are open, part of the reason wide receiver Andre Johnson has voiced extreme frustration. He doesn’t utilize the middle of the field or his tight ends. He throws a lot of passes that could be intercepted.

Mallett was a third-round pick out of Arkansas in 2011. He spent three years with the Patriots, but only one with O’Brien as the quarterbacks coach. O’Brien left in 2012 to become head coach at Penn State.

Mallett’s first career start will be Nov. 16 against the Cleveland Browns.