Kansas City Chiefs: In Chase Daniel We Trust

The Kansas City Chiefs are in a must win situation this Sunday when they host the San Diego Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium. Both teams are vying for the last Wildcard spot in the AFC playoff picture and it’s going to be a huge fight to the finish.

The Chiefs announced on Friday that Alex Smith won’t be playing due to a lacerated spleen so now it’s Chase Daniel time for the Kansas City Chiefs. Daniel has only started one game in his six seasons in the NFL.

Ironically enough, Daniel’s only start was last year, also in week 17 and also against the San Diego Chargers. This time, though, Daniel will have the comfort of playing in front of a home crowd who will be cheering him on.

Daniel, who played his college ball for the Missouri Tigers, fared well against the Chargers last year with 200 yards passing and two touchdown passes. He also ran for over 50 yards on the ground and overall looked like a solid quarterback.

The Chiefs really should have ended up winning that game last year and kept the Chargers out of the playoffs, but Ryan Succop missed a kick in overtime. I’m still slightly bitter about that.

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Last year’s game was an impressive one for Chase, but there wasn’t really any pressure on the former Missouri Tigers quarterback. Kansas City was already sitting pretty with the fifth seed in the playoffs and couldn’t improve to a higher seed.

This year the Chiefs have to win in order to get into the postseason and hope that a handful of other teams lose as well. Will the pressure of this game get into Chase’s head and affect his performance on the field?

To be honest, I didn’t see this game as a Kansas City victory even when Alex Smith was slated to start. The San Diego Chargers just have to win in order to punch their ticket into the playoffs and I don’t see them faltering in the least bit.

The Chiefs haven’t looked like a playoff ready team and I just don’t see them slowing down Philip Rivers and his offense especially after their huge come from behind win in San Francisco last Saturday night.

Back to Chase Daniel though, he’s been a great backup for the Kansas City Chiefs since his arrival in 2013. People around here love the guy. Not just because he’s a former Mizzou great, but because he seems to really enjoy being a Chief.

While Chase still has one year left on his contract, it wouldn’t be surprising if this ended up being his last game as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs since cutting him would save $2,050,000 of what Sportrac (the source of the link) calls “dead money”.

Maybe if Chase Daniel plays well and brings home a victory, then he’ll remain in Kansas City next season. If not though, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out the door this off season. The Chiefs have two young options in Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray, who are both eager to show what they’re made of.

Fans were super excited when Murray was drafted in the fifth round of last year’s draft and many seemed to think he could be the future of this franchise if things didn’t work out with Alex Smith.

One thing’s for sure though. If Chase Daniel can win this game, then he might be proving that he’s ready for a starting quarterback position in the National Football League.

Next: Alex Smith Out on Sunday

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