Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia (7) slips past Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tank Tyler (93) during Sunday's game in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs are the worst in the league with just four sacks this season.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Based on the supposedly sacred takeaway/giveway margin that so many coaches swear by, Herm Edwards and his youthful Kansas City Chiefs should be barreling toward the postseason, trampling everyone in their path.

The Chiefs’ turnover margin is a sparkling plus-seven. That’s third from the top in the NFL, placing them among the elite.

At the same time, their won-loss record is 1-7, next-to-last among the 32 teams.

The past two weeks, against the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City took the ball away seven times and coughed it up only once. Yet, the Chiefs lost both games, giving up fourth-quarter leads in each instance.

“I’ve only been in the NFL three years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team that was plus-seven and 1-7 at the same time,” safety Jarrad Page said. “But there’s a lot of weird things.”

Halfway through a season that threatens to be the worst in team history, the lowly Chiefs lead the league with 11 recovered fumbles. With 18 total takeaways, they trail only the Chicago Bears, who are just one better.

In second place in that important and normally telling stat, Kansas City finds itself in fast company. Also with 18 are the Indianapolis Colts, the unbeaten Tennessee Titans and the defending Super Bowl and NFC East-leading New York Giants.

Together, that trio is 19-5. So why are the Chiefs only 1-7?

“There’s a lot of weird things going on,” repeated Page.

One explanation might be found in another very critical stat: They are the worst at sacking the quarterback, with just four in eight games.

And only one of those has come from a starting defensive lineman. One and a half of the sacks belong to linebacker Derrick Johnson. He hurt his hamstring in the Tampa Bay game on Sunday and may not be ready for this week’s trip to San Diego, where Philip Rivers is averaging 246 yards passing, seventh in the NFL.

Compared with other teams, Kansas City’s paltry sack total is enough to make a fan wince. The 1-7 Bengals, with nine sacks, are the only other NFL team that hasn’t cracked double digits.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lead with 32 and the forlorn Detroit Lions, the league’s only winless team, has 16. In other words, the worst team in the league is four times better than Kansas City at getting after the quarterback.

“That’s awful,” Edwards said. “I’ve never been involved in that. That’s almost like we only rush the quarterback with two guys.”

Against the Jets two weeks ago, the Chiefs did manage to get some pressure on Brett Favre. One of the three picks Favre threw was caused by defensive end Tamba Hali bearing down on him.

“You’ve got to get the quarterback down. You’ve got to hit him,” Edwards said. “We’ve hit him some. But we haven’t got him down enough. That’s always hard. That’s why on third down we haven’t been able to get off the field. When you can’t get the quarterback down, especially on third down, you’ve got a problem.”

The lofty takeaway totals are even more impressive considering there have been only four sacks, Edwards said.

The Chiefs were hopeful Tuesday of good news on the injury front. They expect punter Dustin Colquitt to be back after missing two games. Also, cornerback Brandon Flowers is planning to practice today and could be healed from his hamstring problem.

But placing Kolby Smith on injured reserve with a knee injury this week leaves them perilously thin at running back, because Larry Johnson is serving a one-game league suspension.

Johnson, who also missed the last three games for breaking team rules, will be eligible to return Nov. 16 against New Orleans. Edwards said he would immediately go into the mix.

Also, Kansas City released cornerback Tyrone Brackenridge and punter Steve Weatherford. The took rookie tight end Michael Merritt and kick returner Kevin Robinson off the physically unable to perform list.