Print edition: 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Having 24 hours to watch the game video and collect his thoughts on Sunday's blowout loss to Denver didn't change Todd Haley's mind on the Chiefs' quarterback situation.
Matt Cassel, who struggled through his worst game with the Chiefs in the 44-13 loss to the Broncos, will start this Sunday's game against Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium.
"I'm going to play the guys that give us the best chance to win, and Matt is one of those guys right now,'' Haley said. "I feel pretty confident in Matt and his abilities, and he'll bounce back and have another great week of preparation and give us a chance to beat Buffalo.''
Cassel completed just 10 of his 29 pass attempts for 84 yards and threw a couple of costly interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the crucial third quarter. The Chiefs began the second half trailing 14-6, but their situation unraveled quickly when the Broncos scored 20 consecutive points.
Haley didn't agree with the notion that Cassel would be better served by backing up Brodie Croyle, even if the break was just for the Bills game.
"The people that survive some of these tough times will be better for it, myself included,'' Haley said. "That's part of the deal.''
Cassel also committed two turnovers in the previous week's game against San Diego and appears to be buckling under the pressure of trying to guide the anemic Chiefs offense.
But Haley indicated he believed Cassel was strong enough to overcome the toughest stretch of his professional career.
"I think the kid is a tough, tough guy and generally when you're tough, you can handle adversity,'' Haley said Monday. "That's the quarterback's job, to stand adversity in the face and overcome. Yesterday was adversity.
"Matt is a young quarterback experience-wise. Every game is experience for him. I expect him to learn from yesterday's experience just like from the first 10 games he played.''
Haley yanked Cassel in favor of Croyle late in the third quarter Sunday with the Chiefs trailing 34-6. Haley said the benching was part of the learning process for Cassel, who played little in college at USC or in his first three seasons as an NFL backup for New England.
Cassel was the Patriots' starter only last season when he replaced the injured Tom Brady.
"He's been taken out of the game and had to watch his backup play,'' Haley said. "How (Cassel responds) will tell a lot about guys playing that position. That's not a position for the faint of heart. Matt's a tough guy . . . He's intent on improving his performance.
"The experience he had to go through in coming out of the game and watching his backup play is more important than actually being in there for the last quarter of the game.''
Haley defended Cassel's play earlier in Sunday's game, saying Chiefs receivers didn't give him enough help. Bobby Wade got behind the Denver secondary on the Chiefs' first possession but couldn't quite grab a ball that was slightly overthrown.
On their next drive, Lance Long dropped a pass in the end zone, and the Chiefs eventually had to settle for a field goal.
"The quarterback I thought prepared very well during the week and for the first half of that game I thought really had us in a position to have a chance to win,'' Haley said. "We had a couple of plays we had to make in that game on throws that were made that the guys catching the ball (didn't make).
"I thought that game started the way it had to start and at the quarterback position Matt did some really good things that should have had us in a better position than we were in . . . He avoided a couple of sacks and made positive plays out of them and made some throws that probably should have been big plays for us.''
