KCKingdom
Fansided

KC Chiefs: Chase Daniel’s 2013 Start vs. San Diego

By John Viril

facebooktwitterreddit

With backup QB Chase Daniel starting for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, I decided to examine the All-22 video of his only career start at  NFL.com.

Interestingly enough, that 2013 game also came in week 17 against the Chargers, but the game was in San Diego instead of Kansas City.

As most fans will recall, the Chiefs played their backups in a game that was meaningless to Kansas City, but the Chargers needed to win to make the playoffs. The KC backups came within a missed 41-yard field goal in regulation from beating San Diego.

More from Kansas City Chiefs

Former Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop, however, missed and the Kansas City Chiefs lost 27-24 in overtime, allowing San Diego to skin into the playoffs.

This week, the Chiefs not only need to beat the Chargers, but both the Ravens and Texans have to lose home games for Kansas City to win a wild card spot. The Chiefs also have to do it with backup Chase Daniel at the helm after Alex Smith suffered a lacerated spleen in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Chase Daniel played well in his only career start, completing 21 of 30 passes for 200 yards and 1 touchdown. The video matches up with the impression from the stat line.

Daniel made quite a few nice throws, including a 48-yard bomb to A.J. Jenkins on a streak route. Against man coverage with a single high safety, Daniel held the defender in the center of the field with his head before throwing the ball to Jenkins along the sideline.

That throw set up Knile Davis‘ 17-yard TD run to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

Daniel also drove the Chiefs down the field against the Chargers with the score tied 24-24. Starting with 3 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the game, Daniel drove the Chiefs to the San Diego 24 yard line before Ryan Succop’s missed field goal.

What surprised me was that the Chargers only put moderate pressure on Daniel. San Diego played mostly man coverage in  the first half, while mixing in more zone in the 2nd. However, they did not blitz extra rushers very often. I expect they will bring much more heat on Sunday.

On video, Chase Daniel is much more of a pocket quarterback than Alex Smith. He pretty much stays stationary in the pocket until he is flushed, unless the play is designed for quarterback movement. Daniel also has a good feel for pressure, even when he can’t see the rushers coming.

While Chase Daniel is a pocket quarterback, he can pick up yards with his feet. Against the Chargers last season, Daniel picked up 59 yards rushing on 7 carries which mostly came in the 1st half when San Diego played a lot of man-to-man coverage.

Daniel also pushed the ball down the field more than Alex Smith, and will throw into tighter windows–although he is also careful with the ball.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but on the final drive, Daniel’s propensity to look down-field hurt him when he overlooked a wide open underneath receiver on 3rd and long in an attempt to get a first down. Taking the short man would have put the Kansas City Chiefs in field goal range, and could have extended the game.

Overall, the All-22 video did nothing to change the favorable impression I had about Chase Daniel’s start in 2013. He played a nice game with 2nd team players around him.

While I expect the Chargers to bring far more pressure given Daniel’s performance last season and Kansas City’s offensive line issues, Daniel could very well steal a victory at Arrowhead.

More from KC Kingdom

Home/Kansas City Chiefs