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How Alex Smith's injury affects AFC playoff picture

Published: Dec 26, 2014 at 05:21 AM

The AFC playoff picture just got a whole lot more interesting.

With news that Alex Smith suffered a lacerated spleen, which will prevent him from playing on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers and hand the reigns to Chase Daniel, the entire landscape of the conference shifts.

Kansas City needed to win and have the Ravens lose and the Texans lose or tie, already an unlikely proposition. The Chargers, however, just need to beat the Chiefs to secrue a berth and that now seems much more likely with Daniel under center instead of Smith.

The injury also impacts the Ravens, who need a victory or a tie combined with a Chargers loss or tie to sneak into the next round, and the Texans. Houston needs losses from both Baltimore and San Diego as well as a win over Jacksonville to make the playoffs.

From almost anywhere, the Chargers look to be the biggest benefactor from what sounds like a painful and unfortunate injury sustained by Smith. The former No. 1 overall pick took a shot against Pittsburgh on Sunday but did not realize how significant the issue was until later on in the week.

Now, it's up to his replacement to guide the hard-luck Chiefs into the playoffs. It's also up to the Chargers not to let themselves get beat by Daniel, who has one career start (he completed 25 of 38 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown back in 2013, also in Week 17 against San Diego).

The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews the biggest matchups in Week 17 and makes its picks for the last week of the season. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

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