Kansas City, Mo. ? Fans who ridicule the NFL’s final exhibition game as nothing more than a meaningless tuneup to the regular season have never walked in Jeris McIntyre’s shoes.

For people like him and Jamal Jones, what happens during tonight’s New Orleans-Kansas City game could determine nothing less than their future in football.

Like just about every other team in the NFL, the Saints (1-2) and Chiefs (1-2) will have their top players on the field for only a few minutes in the fourth and final exhibition game of 2006. Be late finding your seat and you might miss Pro Bowler Larry Johnson and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.

These games are almost always devoted to reserves and rookies, young guys fighting for jobs and veterans struggling to milk one more year out of their playing career.

Since the Chiefs drafted him in the sixth round in 2004, McIntyre has struggled to stay on the roster. But Jones wasn’t even drafted and the Saints are his third team in three years. He was thinking about giving up his NFL dreams and enrolling in graduate school when New Orleans invited him to training camp.

Tonight could be the end for him. But make a few nifty plays, and it could also be the beginning.

“I feel good right now. Preseason isn’t over though, so I want to have a good showing on Thursday,” Jones said. “I’ve still got some work to do to make it to the final cuts.”

Knowing that each team will probably keep five – maybe six – wide receivers, it’s hard not to “do the math.” That’s what players call it when they sit around and make constant calculations as to where they stand.

“You always want to do it,” said McIntyre. “You do it before the season, through the preseason, when you’re sitting at home. People call you and ask, ‘Hey, what’s it looking like?’ So you’re always going to do the math.

“But when you’re here and on the field,” he added, “you can’t think about the math or you’re not going to do your job.”

Pressure on coaches to make the right choice is also intense.

“There’s going to be tough decisions – I think at receiver,” said Saints coach Sean Payton. “There’s going to be tough decisions in the secondary.”

As the cutdown to the 53-man roster looms, backup quarterback is another hotly contested area for both teams.

Veteran Damon Huard is probably safe as Kansas City’s No. 2 behind Trent Green. But former CFL star Casey Printers and rookie Brodie Croyle are fighting to see who becomes the Chiefs’ quarterback of the future.

Todd Bouman and Jamie Martin have been in a spirited struggle in the Saints camp.

Unlike starter Drew Brees, who was acquired from San Diego in the offseason, both have thrown touchdown passes in the preseason.

“There are some guys that have done some good things in this camp and we’ll have a chance to see them maybe more than just in the first quarter,” Payton said.

As a former undrafted free agent who made good in his opportunity with the Philadelphia Eagles 30 years ago, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards fully understands the human drama that’ll be boiling beneath whatever the final score might be in the last preseason game.

“Most fans see a bunch of young players playing. But those young players are the future of our league,” Edwards said. “And a lot of the young players who are going to be playing in this game are going to be big-time players.

“It’s an important game for young guys all through the league. Five years from now, some of these guys will be stars and you’ll be talking about them being great players. And they’ll be guys who played in the last preseason game that a lot of fans didn’t pay attention to.”