(Sports Network) - Many of our nation's young people, and some others who are not so young, understand the National Football League through the Madden video game series.

When a controller is unplugged or unoccupied in a two-player simulation, the player holding the working controller can basically do whatever he or she wants.

My, did it look like the Kansas City Chiefs had set down their controller and gone to the kitchen for a snack on Sunday. The Chiefs were nowhere to be found in Sunday's 41-7 loss at Denver, the sixth consecutive loss for Herm Edwards' club following a 4-3 start.

Offense? Nope. The Chiefs had 129 yards and seven first downs all day, numbers that drop to 66 yards and two first downs when you take out Kansas City's one decent drive of the game, a 15-play, 63-yard TD march in the second quarter. Quarterback Brodie Croyle never got a sniff of his first win as an NFL starter, turning the ball over three times and absorbing five sacks. An always-bad Chiefs line was worse than usual, as running back Kolby Smith managed just 12 yards on 13 carries while running behind it.

This against a Denver team that hadn't stopped the run all year.

Defense? Negative. The self-described strength of Herm Edwards' team allowed 453 yards, with Denver quarterback Jay Cutler (20-of-27, 244 yards, 4 TD), wideout Brandon Marshall (10 receptions, 115 yards, 2 TD), and running back Selvin Young (17 carries, 156 yards) - three players with two years or less of NFL experience - all posting career games.

Hey, at least punter Dustin Colquitt (8 punts, 46.3 average) and kickoff return man Benny Sapp (5 returns, 84 yards) saw plenty of action.

"Obviously the game started bad for us," said Edwards, who was clearly agitated by the result but stopped short of reminding the media that you play to win the game. "They really jumped on us early and hit some big plays on the passing game. We just couldn't slow them down. We couldn't run the ball and we didn't really do anything on offense. Give Denver credit, this was the worst game we played all season. It just got away from us early and we never recovered."

Other Chiefs were a bit more frank than Edwards.

"We flat out got our butts whooped," said defensive end Jared Allen, who didn't even manage his usual sack or two. "I don't feel like [the offense or special teams are to blame]. I hope no one else does because if they do, they shouldn't be out on the field. It's not like the defense did anything to help out the cause today. I have to watch the film, but I know we didn't tackle worth a damn. We haven't the last six weeks. It goes back to fundamentals, line assignments, technique, and tackling. We need to look at ourselves and ask, 'what can I do better?'"

Maybe the question should be, "How could we possibly we worse?"

STREAKING, NOT PEAKING

The Chiefs' six-game losing streak is the franchise's longest since 1998, when Marty Schottenheimer's final team lost six consecutive in the midst of a 7-9 year.

Kansas City last lost seven in a row in 1987, when the team dropped nine consecutive, though three of those losses came with replacement players on the field during a player's strike. The team's longest losing streak in a non- strike year came in 1985, when they lost seven in a row.

The Chiefs have the third-longest current skid in the NFL behind only the 0-13 Dolphins and the equally 4-9 Ravens, who have lost seven in a row.

THE BRIGHT SPOT...AGAIN

Though the 2007 season is not likely to be one he looks back upon with fondness, Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has been as steady and reliable as usual.

The future Hall of Famer logged seven catches for 76 yards and the team's only touchdown on Sunday, drawing closer to what would be just the third 1,000-yard season of his career.

Heading into Week 15, Gonzalez has totals of 79 receptions for 954 yards and five touchdowns on the year. The eight-time Pro Bowler needs to average eight receptions over his final three games of the year to surpass his career-best in receptions, set in 2004 with 102 grabs.

NO WORD ON LARRY

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson missed his fifth consecutive game with a foot injury on Sunday, and it appears increasingly unlikely that the two-time Pro Bowl selection will see the field again in 2007.

Kansas City had only two true running backs active on Sunday, Kolby Smith and rookie Gilbert Harris, in addition to fullbacks Kris Wilson and Boomer Grigsby.

Harris, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Arizona, rushed for four yards on a season-high four carries in the defeat.

NEXT UP

The Chiefs return home this week to face the 7-6 Titans, a team still fighting for a playoff berth.

Kansas City holds a 25-18 lead in its all-time regular season series with Tennessee, including a 49-38 road win when the teams last met, during the 2004 season. The Titans won the previous meeting, a 17-14 overtime affair in Nashville during the 2000 season. The Titans franchise is 0-2 in Kansas City since the-then Houston Oilers prevailed there in 1990.

In addition to their regular season history, the teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Chiefs taking a 28-20 decision in an AFC Divisional Playoff in 1993, and the then-Dallas Texans defeating the Oilers for the 1962 AFL Championship. The Texans moved to Kansas City following the '62 campaign.

Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is 1-4 all-time against the Chiefs. Kansas City's Edwards is 1-0 head-to-head against both Fisher and the Titans, with that win coming for his Jets team at the Meadowlands in 2003.