Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien has insisted that the battle to become his side's starting quarterback remains "even" after three weeks of training camp.

Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett have been locked in a contest to win the starting berth throughout the summer, but O'Brien has admitted that he has seen nothing yet to put one player ahead of the other, although Hoyer did start their pre-season win over the San Francisco 49ers.

"They both have the quality of leadership; they both have the quality of intelligence," O'Brien told reporters. "So, it's an even battle. And like I said, we'll make a decision at some point.

"We'll go with one guy to start the season. That other guy needs to be ready to play. We played four quarterbacks last year, so you just never know but we can only play one at a time. So, we'll pick one eventually and go with that guy."

The Texans open their regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 13.