With Jeremy Maclin hurt, who steps up for Chiefs?

There was nothing better for the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans to finally exorcise the playoff demons of the last 22 years this past Saturday in a 30-0 win over the Houston Texans.

It’s also fair to say that the game wasn’t even as close as that given how the offense was only able to score three points off five Brian Hoyer turnovers (four INT, one fumble) and led by only 13 going into the second half. Despite the great victory there was definitely a bittersweet feeling to it after witnessing Jeremy Maclin go down in the third quarter with what looked like a serious knee injury. Seeing Maclin on the sidelines crying seemed to say it all and that his season was all but over…until Sunday.

The Chiefs revealed on Sunday that Maclin didn’t suffer a torn ACL as originally thought but instead an ankle sprain and is considered day-to-day. None of us know if Maclin will play this weekend or even the rest of the season, but this is fantastic news going forward into next season. It would have been Maclin’s third ACL tear, all on his right knee. There’s a good chance he wouldn’t have been ready for the start of next season due to the timing of it. It was a huge bullet dodged for both Maclin and the team and it’s great to see that at worst he’ll be there for OTAs and training camp.

Let’s talk about the here and now: even if Maclin does somehow suit up against the Patriots I can’t imagine him being close to 100 percent out there. He might end up being used as a decoy more than anything, so I want to focus on what will happen if he ends up being inactive.

Next: Time to step up...