K.C. hopes for ’06 repeat

Chiefs started slowly last year before playoff run

Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher sacks Kansas City quarterback Damon Huard. Huard was shaken up in the Chiefs' 20-10 loss Sunday but will start this week's home opener against Minnesota.

Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe (82) celebrates his touchdown catch with Jason Dunn. Bowe had two receptions Sunday.

? The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping history repeats itself.

The Chiefs are 0-2, while scoring a mere 13 points in road losses at Chicago and Houston. Kansas City began last season 0-2, while scoring 16 points, but rebounded to win nine of its final 14 games to earn a wild-card playoff berth.

“There are 10 teams that are 0-2 right now,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said Tuesday. “Of the 10 teams 0-2, five of them were playoff teams last year. We happen to be one of those five. But there is no need to panic. We’re going keep doing what we have to do. We’ll get better.”

Kansas City ranks 31st out of 32 NFL teams when it comes to points per game. It’s 28th in total yards, 27th in rushing yards, 24th in passing yardage and 30th in third-down efficiency.

But Edwards insists the offense’s confidence is not wavering.

“They need some success, like anybody in life,” Edwards said.

“You gain confidence by being successful. That’s what gains confidence. It’s not talking about it. It’s not plays. It’s not play calls. It’s being successful on the football field,” he said. “We’ve had some success on moving the ball at times. We haven’t had enough success scoring. That’s the problem. If you don’t score, you don’t gain a lot of confidence.”

The Chiefs will play the Minnesota Vikings (1-1) on Sunday in their home opener. The Vikings defense ranks third in the NFL in points per game, holding Atlanta and Detroit to 23 points.

Kansas City has committed six turnovers – three interceptions and three fumbles lost – in their first two games. In the 20-10 loss to the Bears, the Chiefs were penalized nine times for 60 yards, including an illegal shift that nullified a touchdown.

“What we have to do is execute on what’s being called,” Edwards said. “We can’t turn the ball over, and we’ve done that in an alarming rate in the last two games, and that’s not very good. We had way too many penalties last week. We’re usually not penalized like that. We have way too many penalties going into the third game. If you just cut out those things, that’s the page we need to be on.”

Edwards pointed out that after the offensive struggles early last year, Kansas City scored 41 points in the third game against the San Francisco 49ers.

“It’s no different than last year,” he said. “We were sitting in kind of the same rut, and we score 41. We got off to an early lead, 24-nothing at half. The last few games we’ve been behind every time at halftime. So you feel like you’re digging yourself out of a hole.”

When starting wide receiver Eddie Kennison returns from a hamstring injury suffered in the season opener, rookie Dwayne Bowe could continue to start opposite Kennison, Edwards said. That would relegate Samie Parker to second-string duty.

Bowe, a first-round pick out of LSU, caught a touchdown pass against the Bears. Kennison will miss his second straight game Sunday.

Defensive end Jared Allen will return Sunday. Allen, who led the NFL with six fumble recoveries in 2006 for the Chiefs, was suspended by the league for the first two games.