Kansas City quarterback Damon Huard (11) is sacked by Miami's Donnie Spragan. Huard was sacked three times and was pressured consistently - especially on third down - in the Chiefs' 13-10 loss Sunday in Miami.

After scoring 30 more points or more during their last three games, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense crashed back to earth last during last Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. And coach Herm Edwards could not provide any answers to those struggles.

“If I knew that, I would have given them a pill and say get out of it,” Edwards said during his Tuesday news conference. “We were out of rhythm.”

The Chiefs never got in sync, and it started on first down. During 12 of those situations, the Chiefs gained one yard or less.

“That’s not very good, and it puts you in third-and-long,” Edwards said. “When you get in third-and-longs in this league, they generally hit the quarterback.”

Defensive end Jason Taylor and his defensive teammates did just that, racking up three sacks and pressuring quarterback Damon Huard during nearly every passing attempt. With little time before the pocket collapsed, Huard and the Chiefs did not gain a first down until late in second quarter and converted three of 14 third downs during the entire game.

“Definitely, we struggled on third down,” Huard said. “(The Dolphins) did a great job getting pressure, getting on me and playing solid man coverage in the secondary. I missed some throws, and we just didn’t get it done.”

The Dolphins applied that pressure against a patchwork offensive line, which will be without injured right tackle Kevin Sampson and left guard Brian Waters again this week. Edwards said he hoped Waters, a two-time Pro Bowler, would return for the Thanksgiving game against the Denver Broncos but did not blame the offensive line for the offense’s lack of production.

“Our line is doing a good job,” he said.

With so few third-down conversions, running back Larry Johnson received fewer carries than Edwards wanted. Johnson, who has 891 rushing yards this season, eluded tacklers effectively but carried only 18 times for 75 yards.

“We got out of our game plan,” Edwards said. “It all goes through the run.”

Miami's Channing Crowder stops Kansas City's Larry Johnson. Johnson had just 18 carries Sunday as the Chiefs played from behind for most of the game.

The receiving options, however, will become more limited this week. Tight end Tony Gonzalez, the team’s leading receiver with 44 catches for 588 yards, will likely miss Sunday’s game with a shoulder strain. Ten-year-veteran Jason Dunn, known for his stalwart run blocking, will replace Gonzalez as the starter. To compensate for the seven-time Pro Bowler’s absence, the Chiefs will have to rely more on their wide receivers, especially the 6-2, 219-pound Rod Gardner.

“He’ll probably be in the game plan as it looks now,” Edwards said. “We’re probably going to activate all our receivers.”

Although the Chiefs face a 2-7 Oakland Raiders team, whose 32nd-ranked offense makes the Chiefs resemble a Peyton Manning-led team, scoring could become difficult Sunday against Oakland’s seventh-ranked defense.

“Their record doesn’t indicate how they’re playing on defense. They’re playing very, very well,” Edwards said. “We’re going to have to move the ball a lot better than we did last week.”