TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- It isn't a coincidence that Gunther Cunningham's Kansas City Chiefs remind a lot of people of Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Not only do the teams have similar records halfway through the NFL season, but both are run-oriented clubs that subscribe to the philosophy there's no better recipe for success than a dominating ground game supported by a strong defense.

And Cunningham, the first-year coach of the Chiefs, said make no mistake about it: he settled on the style that's helped his team to a 5-3 start while watching Dungy the last three years.

"When Tony got the job at Tampa Bay, and I was still coaching defense, there were many nights the staff and I talked about how he knew what to do ... which was control the ball, control the clock, build a good defense, and that way you're going to build a championship team," Cunningham said.

"I know eveything hasn't happened for him the right way, but my hat's off to what he's trying to do. This is not sugarcoating it. This is from my heart. ... When I was floundering as an assistant, he had one of the programs I could look at and say if I ever had the chance, I'd do the same thing."

Dungy's approach hasn't been nearly as popular with Bucs fans, who complain Tampa Bay's offense is too conservative and plays into the hands of opponents. They also claim the team does not use all its weapons.

The Bucs (4-4) are 27th in passing and 23rd in overall offense, and struggling quarterback Trent Dilfer has only been part of the problem. The line has been weakened by injuries, the receivers have been inconsistent, and almost everyone on the team seemed to have an aversion to the end zone before Tampa Bay scored a season-high 31 points against New Orleans last week.

Dilfer was benched two weeks ago, only to regain the job when Eric Zeier injured his ribs in his first start for Tampa Bay. The sixth-year pro responded by throwing three touchdown passes and no interceptions against the Saints.

After scoring just eight TDs and averaging 13 points in their first seven games, the Bucs had four touchdowns against the Saints.

"One thing I've learned about football in general is a lot of bad things can happen and you don't need to panic," said Dilfer, who will remain in the lineup Sunday against the Chiefs.

"It was a pretty disheartening first half to not turn out the way I or many people thought it should. But after all is said and done, we're 4-4 and still in the hunt. You just can never panic."

The Bucs and Chiefs are among 15 teams with three, four or five victories that could be a factor in playoff races in both conferences.

Kansas City trails first-place Seattle by one game in the AFC West, while Tampa Bay amazingly is only two games behind NFC Central leader Detroit despite losing three division games on the road.

With five of their remaining eight games at home, the Bucs have a good shot at making up ground on the Lions and earning a playoff berth for just the second time since 1982.

"It really comes down to the way you play in November and December," Dilfer said.

"I relate it to a golf tournament. You don't win on Thursday or Friday, you just try to stay in the hunt. If you can play great on Saturday and Sunday, you can win. I kind of feel like that's what we've done. We've shot even par the first half, now we've got to come out with some strong 65s to win this thing."

Kansas City is coming off a loss to Indianapolis that stopped a three-game winning streak. Like the Bucs, the Chiefs fare much better at home (4-0) than on the road (1-3).

Cunningham said the difference has been offensive breakdowns late in games.

"In the three road losses, we struggled at the end to get points on the board," he said. "We've held teams close. We've been in position to knock them out, and we haven't gotten it done."

Nevertheless, Kansas City's difficulties pale in comparison to those of Tampa Bay, which has scored just four more points than the NFC-low 118 (tied with St. Louis) it has allowed.

All things considered, the Bucs feel fortunate to be within striking distance of playoff berths and, possibly, division titles.

"I like logjams, the way we've been playing," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "That gives us a chance to control our own destiny. That's all you can ask for. ... We've got eight games to put ourselves in a position to win a championship, and we feel pretty good about our chances."

KANSAS CITY Season schedule and results

TAMPA BAY Season schedule and results

September 12 @Chicago L 17-20 September 19 Denver W 26-10 September 26 Detroit W 31-21 October 3 @San Diego L 14-21 October 10 New England W 16-14 October 21 @Baltimore W 35-8 October 31 San Diego W 34-0 November 7 @Indianapolis L 17-25 November 14 @Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET November 21 Seattle 1:00pm ET November 28 @Oakland 4:15pm ET December 5 @Denver 4:15pm ET December 12 Minnesota 8:20pm ET December 18 Pittsburgh 12:40pm ET December 26 @Seattle 4:05pm ET January 2 Oakland 1:00pm ET

September 12 NY Giants L 13-17 September 19 @Philadelphia W 19-5 September 26 Denver W 13-10 October 3 @Minnesota L 14-21 October 10 @Green Bay L 23-26 October 24 Chicago W 6-3 October 31 @Detroit L 3-20 November 7 @New Orleans W 31-16 November 14 Kansas City 1:00pm ET November 21 Atlanta 1:00pm ET November 28 @Seattle 4:05pm ET December 6 Minnesota 9:00pm ET December 12 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 19 @Oakland 4:05pm ET December 26 Green Bay 4:15pm ET January 2 @Chicago 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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