Antonio Gates Becomes Focal Point of San Diego-Kansas City Game

Antonio Gates still remains questionable for the San Diego-Kansas City game that takes place on Sunday. This has kept fantasy football owners searching for new information on one of the best tight ends in football.

According to the final injury report for the game, Gates is still listed as questionable. He has a foot injury that leaves him with a 50-50 chance of playing in the game, meaning he is just as likely to miss it. This makes it seem like he will be examined again right before the game to see if he is ready to go, and that nobody will know what the decision is until game time.

The San Diego Chargers have been a better team than the Kansas City Chiefs this year, but the reality is that San Diego shouldn't even need Gates on Sunday. Despite the fact that Kansas City won the AFC West last season, this is a team entrenched in struggles through the first part of the 2011 season. The Chiefs have scored just 10 points this year, but have given up 89 in that same span. That is about as ugly as it can get in the NFL.

The importance of this game is what might make Gates more likely to play, even if he is feeling some pain in that ankle. Three teams are tied at 1-1 in the AFC West, meaning the Chiefs could get right back in the thick of things with a victory over the Chargers. San Diego has to make sure that doesn't happen, and having the best tight end in the AFC would give quarterback Philip Rivers another great weapon on offense.

Gates has eight catches for 74 yards in 2011, with all of those yards coming in week one against the Minnesota Vikings. He was defended very well by the New England Patriots in week two, and will surely be looking to bounce back with a huge game this week. That's what fantasy football team owners are hoping for, but being left with the drama of the tight end not even playing could lead to stress until the game actually kicks off.

Gates missed six games last year, limiting him to just 50 catches and 782 yards receiving. That was one year after his best in the NFL, where he caught 79 passes for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns. Now he has taken center stage not for what he has done on the field, but whether or not he will actually be on it.