"No other starting quarterback in the NFL took more snaps in the final week of preseason than the Chiefs' Matt Cassel. And the Chiefs might have paid the price when Cassel suffered a rib injury that could affect his play in Sunday's season opener against Buffalo.

It was a chance that Chiefs coach Todd Haley continues to defend, though it certainly surprised some observers, including former Chiefs quarterback and NFL MVP Rich Gannon, who was broadcasting the preseason finale as an analyst for Green Bay's preseason telecasts.

"I was surprised to not just see the quarterback, but a lot of the starters playing in the fourth quarter," said Gannon, who will cover the Chiefs' opener for CBS. "I saw Dwayne Bowe out there with a couple of minutes to go in the game."

Cassel took 26 snaps before he was forced out of the game when 340-pound Howard Green slammed him to the turf, causing the injury. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' starting offense took just eight snaps on a first-quarter touchdown drive.

Eighteen other starting quarterbacks did not even play in the preseason finale.

"The last game … how anybody else does it really doesn't pertain to us," Haley said. "We have a very experienced staff. We had hours and hours of discussion throughout the offseason, how we wanted to do things … to get ready to play the season … and we followed along with that."

Certainly, the NFL lockout played a role in the Chiefs' approach. Haley wanted to make sure his team was fully conditioned after an offseason without organized team activities, minicamps and contact with the strength and conditioning staff.

So fitness, not football, was stressed during the first two preseason games. And after St. Louis' starters outplayed the Chiefs in what usually is the final dress rehearsal in week three, Haley treated week four almost like a regular-season game, including an onside kick and fake punt.

"Those measures were taken because the Kansas City Chiefs looked like garbage in the first (three) preseason games," said ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth, an offensive linemen for three Super Bowl champions. "When I was playing for Mike Shanahan, we were told, 'If you put together a few good series in a preseason game, then you get out. If you're three-and-out, you're going back in. …'"