The Sports Xchange

KANSAS CITY — A man doesn’t spend 17 seasons as an NFL head coach and not have a data bank of experiences to fall back on in tough times.

Andy Reid has dug deep into his football hard drive over the last three weeks, trying to make sure he’s not missed anything in what has been a disappointing start to the 2015 season.

Expectations of success were quite high for the Chiefs, but they are 1-3 and Reid needs to stop the bleeding that’s come with a three-game losing streak.

“In the National Football League, it’s not as bad as you think, and not as good as you think,” Reid said. “There is a small margin between winning and losing, and we’ve got to tighten that up.”

That line between winning and losing has been anything but thin in the last two weeks for the Chiefs. The problems have not been with one aspect of the team, or even one unit.

The Chiefs have been disappointing on offense and defense.

They’ve showed flashes of their potential, but too many mistakes and the lack of consistency that comes from those self-inflicted wounds, have them three games behind the division leading Broncos after only four weeks of play.

In losing to Denver, Green Bay and Cincinnati, Kansas City fell to teams that are a combined 12-0 in the season’s first quarter.

But when a club starts the season with the belief they are good enough to compete on the NFL’s highest level, and then gets rolled by teams at that level (all three made the playoffs last season), they are obviously struggling.

“We played some good offenses and you’ve got to give them credit,” Reid said this week as he and the Chiefs prepared to host the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

“There are things we need to continue to improve on and we will work on those. I know what we are capable of doing and our guys do (as well), and they are working hard at getting better.

“I believe this is a good team.”

Reid has had good teams during his 17-season tenure as an NFL head coach. Whether the 2015 Chiefs are one of them remains to be seen over the next 12 games, starting with facing the Bears on Sunday.

“I believe in this football team,” Reid said. “We have played good football teams and that allows our young guys to get better. It’s not a four-game season, but at the same time you’ve got massive urgency on every play to get better and we’ve got to do that. Whether it’s coaching, or playing we’ve got to do a better job.”

Running back Jamaal Charles compared the Chiefs’ situation this week to dealing with the aftermath of those tornados that are known to blow through the Midwest every year.

“It’s like a storm when things get messy,” Charles said. “You have to go out and pick up all the mess and do something about it, and do some rebuilding. Right now, we’ve just got to start rebuilding so it doesn’t get worse and worse each week.

“We’ve got to straighten up the locker room and pick up all the trash and be behind each other as a team. Things happen during a season and we just have to get over those things and look forward to making things happen.”

Reid has pushed hard on two points with his players, and they are long-held mantras for coaches dealing with a group that is struggling to post victories: go back to the basics and do your job.

Inside Arrowhead Stadium it does not appear that the panic button has been pulled out of the closet and prepared for use. The Chiefs played a tough group in the first quarter of the season (combined 13-3 record) and the opposition won’t be quite as tough in the schedule’s second quarter: Chicago, at Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Detroit in London (a combined 5-11.)

There is time to make a course correction and the key man in the team’s offense says the locker room remains a confident group despite the bad results.

“We still think we are one of the best teams in the league,” Charles said. “We still have our confidence up. We have a good team; this team is not bad. We just need to go out there and bring a lot of passion and a lot of energy and excitement to the game.”

SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular-season meeting between these teams; Chicago leads the series, 6-5. The last game between the teams was in 2011 when the Chiefs earned a 10-3 victory at Soldier Field. At Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs have a 3-2 record against the Bears, winning the most recent game 31-3 in the 2003 season. The last time Chicago won in Kansas City came with a 19-17 decision in 1993. The most famous game between the teams happened during the 1967 preseason, the season after the Chiefs won the AFL Championship and then lost to Green Bay in what became the first Super Bowl. Looking for respect and revenge against the NFL, the Chiefs hosted coach George Halas’ Bears and won 66-24 in a game that saw head coach Hank Stram use his starters into the fourth quarter.

GAME PLAN

–Coach Andy Reid’s team must stop the bleeding that began in the fourth quarter of week No. 2’s game against Denver. Since then, the Chiefs have been outscored 88-56, exposing problems on both sides of the ball. When they’ve had the ball, the Chiefs struggled in pass protection, allowing 19 sacks, including 12 in the last two games. Defensively, they’ve given up touchdown in the passing game (five vs. Green Bay) and on the ground (four rushing scores by Cincinnati.) Chicago has not scored a lot of points, averaging 17 points per game, so this game doesn’t figure to be a shootout. The way the Chiefs have played in the last three games, it’s the type of game that increases their chances of victory.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Chiefs secondary vs. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

The Kansas City defense has only two interceptions in four games, both by rookie cornerback Marcus Peters. The Chiefs’ interception percentage of 1.3 percent is the sixth lowest in the league. Now that the starting group is settled with safety Eric Berry back in the lineup and cornerback Sean Smith back from an NFL suspension, the level of their play and production should rise. They face Cutler, who has thrown three interceptions in three games. The Chicago quarterback threw 18 interceptions last season, tying San Diego’s Philip Rivers for the most interceptions in the league; half of the Chiefs’ six interceptions in 2014 came against Rivers. Cutler has shown more mobility than Rivers, but like his Chargers counterpart, he’s never been afraid to trust the power of his arm and take chances with his passes. The Chiefs defense must make him pay for any chances taken by Cutler.

–Chiefs kickoff returners Knile Davis/De’Anthony Thomas vs. Bears kickoff coverage unit.

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub came to Andy Reid’s staff three seasons ago from Chicago. In 36 games, Toub’s units have six return touchdowns, or one every six games. It’s been six games since the Chiefs have a return score, although they’ve gotten close in the last two games with kickoff returns of 54 (Davis) and 70 (Thomas) yards. The 70-yarder was wiped out by a penalty. Already this season, Chicago has given up two touchdown returns on kickoffs, 108 yards by Arizona’s David Johnson to open the season and 105 yards by Seattle’s Tyler Lockett. Overall, Chicago’s kickoff coverage ranks last among the NFL’s 32 teams, allowing an average of 38.6 yards per return. The Chiefs need Toub to come up with a plan that leads a returner to the end zone.