Sunday was a day QB Matt Cassel and the Chiefs would like to forget. Falling behind quickly to the Broncos, Kansas City never recovered and went on to lose in blowout fashion, 44-13.

It was an especially bad day for Cassel, who completed just 10-of-29 passes for 84 yards and two interceptions, good for a 14.6 passer rating. Given his struggles and the team's failure to keep the game close, Cassel was benched for the fourth quarter in favor of Brodie Croyle.

"There were a lot of things going wrong out there," Cassel said after the game." We didn't get in much of a rhythm all day; we didn't take advantage of a few big-play opportunities. I can't throw (my receivers) the ball, obviously, and there were a number of issues, especially on the offensive side of the ball today."

Head coach Todd Haley said Sunday that he plans on Cassel returning to the starting lineup next week against Buffalo, adding, "I'm very confident in Matt. Our first series we had a chance to make a huge play on third down. I thought that Matt prepared and was ready to go. The game didn't go the way he or we wanted it to go and then we let some negative things happen."

The PFW spin

Matt Cassel's first season in Kansas City hasn't been a pleasant one, as he has led the team to just three victories and has been extremely inconsistent, playing well one week and falling apart the next. But regardless of how ugly his play is at times, Todd Haley would be making a mistake by benching him for an extended period down the stretch.

Whether his performance is deserving of it or not, Cassel is the Chiefs' franchise quarterback. After trading for him this offseason, they proceeded to hand him a six-year, $63 million contract, even though they had seen only one season's worth of production out of him. While the decision can be questioned, the result is that Cassel is making a boatload of money to be this team's signalcaller, and any decision to sit him for Brodie Croyle or someone else would be counterproductive.

It's obvious that Cassel has had issues this season — one look at Sunday's outing will make that abundantly clear — but he also has shown signs that he can be an effective quarterback outside of New England. On five separate occasions, he has thrown two TD passes and no interceptions, and his nine picks for the season is not a terribly high amount. By allowing Cassel to take most, if not all, of the snaps during the final four games, the Chiefs will only be giving him more time to work within Haley's system and develop a rapport with his receivers, which could go a long way toward his success in 2010.

To blame the Chiefs' 3-9 season on Cassel wouldn't be fair. In addition to the team's many defensive issues, Cassel hasn't been surrounded by a top-notch group of talent. His shoddy O-line has given him little time to throw and has resulted in him already taking 37 sacks. He has not been supported by a consistent running game. And his receiving corps is short on impact players, especially with Dwayne Bowe suspended for the past three games. For Cassel to come close to the success he had with the Patriots, K.C. will have to significantly upgrade the players around him.

The 2009 season may be a lost one for the Chiefs, but that doesn't mean they still can't improve on things and work toward the future. With Cassel a core member of the organization moving forward, he needs to be on the field leading the offense to finish out the campaign. If he's not, the club may as well be admitting that his contract was a mistake.