There hasn't been much good news to report about the Chiefs' offense these days. And with a unit that ranks 29th in average yards per game it's easy to see why.

But there is some hope on the horizon with the possible return of QB Brodie Croyle after Kansas City's Week 6 bye. Plus, if you look at wide receiver targets (the number of times a player is thrown toward) you'll notice the Chiefs' Dwayne Bowe sits atop the list with 56.

But the problem comes when you look at how many of those targets Bowe has converted into receptions. That number is 27, which is lower than each of the wide receivers just behind Bowe in targets. Marshall has 34 receptions, and Fitzgerald and Houshmandzadeh each have 31.

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The Kansas City Chiefs star broke the NFL's career mark for yards receiving by a tight end Sunday, but finished with just three catches for 17 yards in a 34-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

"This is a game that a lot of us probably (would) just as soon forget," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez entered the game three yards shy of Shannon Sharpe's five-year-old record of 10,060 yards. He surpassed the mark on Kansas City's second offensive series by catching a six-yard pass from Damon Huard late in the first quarter.

The 12th-year pro and nine-time Pro Bowler has at least one reception in 120 straight games.

But neither Gonzalez nor the Chiefs could get much else going offensively against the Panthers' physical defense.

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There are only a few times this year when I might actually have the chance to say that the Chiefs are on a “winning streak” so you can bet that I’m going to abuse the daylights out of that privilege. The Chiefs have a chance to go on a winning streak Sunday against the Panthers. Is that doable? Let’s go to the tale-of-the-tape.

Keys to the game:

While the Chiefs looked outstanding against Denver, there are some red flags that make me a little nervous about this Sunday’s matchup against Carolina. The Chiefs’ defense looked stout against Denver, but I’m still not sold on the Chiefs’ run defense. I think Denver’s run offense has really lost its luster and I expect to see a much more disciplined running attack from Carolina. I have obviously not been shy about my dislike for Gunther Cunningham’s defense and I just have a sinking feeling we’ll see another defensive collapse on Sunday. I think teams have gotten the hint that they shouldn’t attack the Killer B’s (Brandon Flowers or Brandon Carr) and I can bet that John Fox has preached to his team over and over and over again: “protect the football at all costs!” The Chiefs were looking for turnovers and, quite frankly, they saved the defense from a lot of jams on Sunday. What happens when the defense doesn’t force turnovers? The one saving grace is that the Panthers may play without Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah on the defensive line. That should help the Chiefs’ run defense tremendously. I’m still not convinced that this will do much for the Chiefs’ completely non-existent pass rush.

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Three years after the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Derrick Johnson as a playmaking linebacker, they’ve finally decided to let him be one.

Told to forget about the details and techniques of his position and fly to the ball as he had done as an All-American at Texas, Johnson responded with perhaps his finest game as a pro. He had seven tackles and half a sack, made an interception and forced a fumble that led to a touchdown in Kansas City’s 33-19 victory over Denver last Sunday.

On Wednesday, he learned he had been named AFC defensive player of the week.

“He was always trying to read everything exactly right,” said coach Herm Edwards. “You still have to read your keys, but he’s athletic enough to where if he just sees the ball, he can make a lot of plays. I think he started seeing the ball better, not worrying so much about techniques. The technique’s going to come.”

The breakthrough game by the 6-foot-3, 242-pounder could not have come at a better time. The Chiefs (1-3) had lost 12 straight games going back to last Oct. 21.

“I knew it was a big game, a division game,” said Johnson. “I wasn’t thinking a lot. I didn’t really care if I messed up. It wasn’t that I wasn’t going to play within the scheme. It’s just that I was putting it all on the line.”

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This is essentially how life works when you're the head coach of a rebuilding franchise. Edwards knew this season would be difficult when he encouraged general manager Carl Peterson and owner Clark Hunt to blow up this veteran-dominated team during the offseason. Now he's realizing just how much is involved in developing so many rookies. "I always have a list of four or five guys to keep an eye on when I get to work," Edwards said. "They need to feel like they're getting better because sometimes they don't feel that way when they're making mistakes."

Although it's far too early to know what the Chiefs have in a rookie class that was highly touted on draft day -- Kansas City had 12 selections, including two first-round picks that were used on defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and left tackle Branden Albert -- there are indications that this group might have a bright future.

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