The next five games on the Kansas City Chiefs schedule were supposed to be the gauntlet if there ever was one. The Chiefs have the hardest schedule in the NFL from this point out and it starts with the New England Patriots tonight on Monday Night Football. Next comes the Steelers next Sunday and then the Packers, Bears and Jets folllow suit. Yet one major injury changes things for the Chiefs in the Bears contest: the injury to Jay Cutler.
Cutler, as it was announced earlier today, will miss the next several weeks with a broken thumb on his throwing hand. It’s akin to the same hand injury that’s keeping Matt Cassel out for several weeks as well for the Chiefs. Thus a match-up that should have been Cassel v. Cutler is now Tyler Palko (or Ricky Stanzi) versus Caleb Hanie (or Nathan Enderle). Not exactly prime viewing.
Still, the Cutler-led Bears offense has been phenomenal during their current five game winning streak with an average of 32 points scored per game. Cutler has truly come into his own during the streak and it’s clear the Bears won’t be the same without him. This will allow the Chiefs defense to focus completely on Matt Forte and challenge Hanie to win the game on his arm.
In short, the challenge isn’t quite as daunting in the Chicago Bears game at this point, and the Chiefs will likely take all of the good news they can get given their current predicament.