Having played in the same scheme for seven years with the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs quarterback Trent Green grasps the offense implemented by Dick Vermeil, Mike Martz and Mike Solari.

“It’s his playbook. He wrote it,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said during his Tuesday news conference. “He knows it better than I do … He has the ability to check coverages and can check whether it’s a run or a pass.”

Green has two games under his belt since returning from a concussion suffered during Week One. But while he has great command of the offense, the Chiefs (7-4) will not stray from their bread and butter of running the football.

“We’re not Indianapolis. We don’t play that type of offense,” Edwards said. “We play the Chiefs offense.”

That offense has relied on running back Larry Johnson, who leads the league with 1,202 rushing yards. In Thursday’s 19-10 victory against the Denver Broncos, Johnson rushed 34 times for 157 yards and a touchdown.

As the season reaches December, the players trying to tackle Johnson should be wearing down.

“It’s a lot easier to run the ball at the end of the season,” Edwards said. “A lot of teams are beat up. Guys don’t like to tackle ’cause they’re sore.”

The Chiefs likely will feed Johnson plenty of carries Sunday when they visit a Cleveland Browns team ranked 25th against the run.

The Browns are 3-8, but Kansas City has struggled on the road, going 2-3. Jumping out to a lead instead of playing from behind as the Chiefs did against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins would help.

“You’ve got to get off to a fast start and play with a lead on the road,” Edwards said. “If you don’t do that, it becomes very, very difficult on the road.”

Defeating the Browns is crucial for Kansas City’s playoff hopes. Last year, the Chiefs also had a 7-4 record, but losses at the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants prevented them from reaching the postseason. In addition to playing at Cleveland, the Chiefs will visit the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers in December.