As I was making my way to the Chiefs locker room after the game, a few Denver columnists wondered whether we were preparing to write any pieces on a quarterback controversy.
"No," I said. "Why would I?"
Though QB Matt Cassel did not finish the game, he was not "benched" in the traditional sense of the word. His play wasn't pretty, that's for sure, but the game was out of hand at that moment.
He's coming back next week and he'll be the starter.
"To me," Haley told reporters, "the game was at a point where it was going to be very difficult for us to even et in the game and it was a chance to get Brodie some snaps."
Just for good measure, is Cassel the starting quarterback next week?
"Yes."
Quarterback controversy? Not for a while (if ever). Cassel is Haley's guy going forward and there's no question about it.
"I'm still very confident in Matt," Haley said. "Our first series we had a chance to make a huge play on third down. I thought 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."
Cassel had a miserable performance. There's no question about it he was like JaMarcus Russel's clone today. But the Chiefs were down by four touchdowns when Croyle came in. The Chiefs were protecting one of their assets and seeing what they've got in another.
"We'll be alright, we'll bounce back," Croyle said after the game. "We've got two more home games so we need to get better."