Patriots vs. Chiefs: Matt Cassel Has "Significant" Hand Injury

No, we're not done looking at yesterday's big win for the New England Patriots over the New York Jets, but for a moment, we'll take a look ahead to next Monday when the Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs.

One of the main reasons I've been looking forward to this game is because of the numerous connections that the Chiefs have to the Patriots organization. Former Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli is the man in charge, Romeo Crennel is the team's defensive coordinator, and Matt Cassel is the team's starting quarterback.

Sure, the Chiefs aren't playing as well as they were last year - a 10-6 season that saw them win the AFC West Division and get to host a home playoff game, but they are still just a game out of first in their division and their cast of characters that are Patriots-related made a potential match-up with them very interesting.

Well, news out of Kansas City may wane your excitement for next Monday night. According to Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star, Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has a "significant" hand injury that will require surgery and could end his 2011 campaign. That news pretty much eliminates any possibility of him playing against the Patriots next week.

This is pretty disappointing, as I was really looking forward to seeing Cassel make a return trip to New England (he started 15 games in 2008, leading the Patriots to an 11-5 record in lieu of an injured Tom Brady). In place of Cassel, the Chiefs will be deploying former Pitt product Tyler Palko. Palko has spent time in the Canadian Football League, United Football League, and four different NFL teams since going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. Palko has thrown 13 passes in his NFL career.