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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has been criticized for just being a game manager, but now the Chiefs face life without him in Week 17. Smith will not play on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers due to a lacerated spleen according to Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder, via B.J. Kissel of KCChiefs.com . Chase Daniel will start on Sunday. The Chiefs need to win to stay alive for a playoff spot. The Chargers clinch a wild-card playoff spot with a win. [ Join FanDuel.com's $2.5M Week 17 fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 21,840 teams paid ] According to Kissel's report, Smith suffered the injury on a third quarter hit last week against the Steelers. It was a three-centimeter laceration that wasn't bleeding much but was enlarged. Burkholder told the Kansas City media that it could get worse if Smith took a hit and the laceration expanded, via Kissel. Smith had discomfort on Tuesday but thought it was a bug going around. The injury generally takes six weeks to heal, Burkholder said, so presumably Smith wouldn't return for the playoffs if the Chiefs make it. "It wasn't until after I addressed & adreneline wore off that I noticed anything. I didn't relate it to a hit," Smith said, Kissel tweeted. Daniel has one start in his career, and coincidentally enough it came in Week 17 against the Chargers.. Last season, when the Chiefs rested almost every starter, Daniel was 21-of-30 for 200 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and the Chiefs missed a late field goal that would have won the game. Daniel is in his sixth season and has thrown just 48 NFL passes. This won't be a meaningless start for Daniel. Not only are the Chiefs alive in the playoff race, but the Ravens and Texans are still alive too based on the result of the Chiefs-Chargers game. It's pretty shocking news out of Kansas City, and all of a sudden the seldom-used Daniel is in a really big spot. - - - - - - - Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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