Kansas City Chiefs: Backup quarterback situation an issue for Chiefs

By Leigh Oleszczak | May 27, 2018

JACKSONVILLE, FL - AUGUST 24: Quarterback Chad Henne #7 of the Jacksonville Jaguars on a pass play during the game against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Field on August 24, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Jaguars 24 to 23. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

The Kansas City Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes as their starting quarterback, but if he goes down for whatever reason, fans shouldn’t feel confident at all.

This is usually the case for most NFL teams at the quarterback position, but it’s a different feeling for Kansas City Chiefs fans. From 2013-2015, the Chiefs had Chase Daniel on deck to backup Alex Smith, which he had to do in both the 2013 and 2014 season finale. Daniel played well in both of those games.

In 2016, Smith was backed up by Nick Foles, who played in two games (starting one) and leading the team to victory in each of his two appearances. 2017 was when the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes in the first round and he was the eventual backup that year, only seeing action in the season finale against the Broncos. The Chiefs won that game.

That start against Denver was enough to make the Chiefs say, “Yeah, okay… Time to move on from Alex Smith and see what Patrick Mahomes can do!” As a result, Smith was traded this offseason and the keys to the car are officially in Mahomes’ hand.

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While it’s exciting to have a new gunslinger at the quarterback position, this is the first time in five years where the Chiefs haven’t had a legitimate backup behind their starter. Daniel and Foles were nice options to have because they could go out there and start a game or two and do okay.

The Chiefs signed Chad Henne and Matt McGloin this offseason, which is fine, but other outlets don’t seem to think the team has a good quarterback situation at all. Just recently, Bleacher Report put the Chiefs as to having the 24th best (so eighth worst) quarterback situation in the league.

Let’s just put this out there and this probably isn’t news to anyone: If Patrick Mahomes has to miss time this season, whether it’s because of an injury or whatever the reason may be, the Chiefs aren’t going to be a good team. Henne and McGloin aren’t starters for a reason. Henne hasn’t started a game since 2014 and McGloin hasn’t appeared in one since 2016.

If either of these guys have to step in for Mahomes this season (unless it’s in the last game of the season), that’s not a good sign. This team will live and die with Patrick Mahomes, where in years past, the Chiefs still had a decent chance to win a game or two with their backup signal caller in.

Those teams not only had above average backups, but they also had good defenses. This year’s team is going to win games by airing the ball out and putting up points. With Mahomes not in the fold, that would put the offense in a bad spot.

While I’m optimistic about Mahomes as the Chiefs starter, him going down will make or break the team’s chances at winning games. Henne and McGloin simply aren’t the type of guys who are going to be able to start multiple games and have success.

What do you think Chiefs fans?

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