Kansas City, Mo. ? If the struggle between Kansas City and New England for home-field advantage went to the team that wanted it most, the Chiefs probably would get the nod.

For one thing, they’re riding a team-record 12-game home winning streak.

For another, years of listening to opponents talk about the noise and intensity of Arrowhead Stadium have persuaded them that they get the biggest edge of any team in the league from being at home.

“When I first came here and I was just watching from the sideline, I thought, ‘Yeah, this is a pretty loud stadium,”‘ said second-year defensive tackle Ryan Sims.

“When you’re playing in the game, it’s ridiculous. You can’t even make calls in the huddle. It’s very frustrating. We on the defensive line even have to devise some hand signals. It gets that bad. You can’t hear guys right beside you talking to you. You cannot talk. People don’t believe me? Come out there and stand in the middle of that field when the crowd’s roaring.”

The Chiefs, who play their final road game Saturday at Minnesota, go into the last two regular-season games tied with New England at 12-2 for the best mark in the AFC. But the Patriots hold the tiebreaker.

“So all we can do is take care of business and hope we get help somewhere,” K.C. cornerback Eric Warfield said. “We would love — dearly love — to be able to play every playoff game in Arrowhead.”

Arrowhead, always packed with about 80,000 loud, red-clad crazies, is the only AFC West venue where Denver coach Mike Shanahan does not have a winning record.

“I remember talking to somebody who was standing right beside me, and I couldn’t make myself heard,” Shanahan once said. “And that was before the game even started.”

The crowd also has become savvy enough to know when to be quiet and when to erupt. When the opposing offense gets close to the goal line, the decibel level reaches what one former player described as “sticking your head inside a jet engine.”

“It’s hard for them. It’s really hard,” defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. “It’s almost impossible for them to communicate. It’s going to be a real, real tough place in a playoff situation.”

To get home-field, the Chiefs figure they’ll have to win out and hope the Patriots do not. That means winning in Minnesota’s Metrodome, which can be rather loud itself.

“You’ve got to stop the Vikings first, put some points on the board and try to quiet (the crowd) down,” said wide receiver Johnnie Morton, who is familiar with the Metrodome after playing there once a year with Detroit. “Then keep them down because once they get going it can get pretty loud up there.”

In the meantime, there was little good news for the Chiefs on the injury front. Coach Dick Vermeil said Wednesday that linebacker Mike Maslowski probably was going to miss his fifth straight game with a knee injury, along with special-teams ace Monty Beisel. Defensive lineman Eric Downing reaggravated a groin injury and is doubtful, along with wide receiver Marc Boerigter.