Kansas City offense vs. Tampa Bay defense

	CHIEFS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	8
	Pass	23
	Tot. Yds.	18
	Scoring	7
	Int's allowed	7
	Sacks allowed	9
	BUCS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	4
	vs. Pass	6
	Total yds. allowed	5
	# of Ints.	7
	# of Sacks	24
	Turnover differential	-14

In coach Gunther Cunningham's ball-control scheme, the Chiefs have run the ball over 65 percent of the time and that doesn't figure to change on Sunday. However, when they are forced to throw, quarterback Elvis Grbac must find a way to get Tony Gonzalez involved early. Gonzalez is a pivotal player in the Chiefs' conservative game plan because his ability to get open in the play-action passing game is what keeps the chains moving.

One thing the Chiefs will do to create better individual matchups, especially in the red-zone, is flex Gonzalez out wide with either Derrick Alexander or Andre Rison in the slot on the same side of the formation. In this set, the wide receiver can attack the safety and drive him away from Gonzalez, who should be able to use his size advantage on one of the Bucs' smallish cornerbacks.

Grbac kept his composure on last week's 11-play, 88-yard scoring drive, but even more impressive were his five third-down completions of 11 yards or better. Against the Bucs' zone-heavy scheme, Grbac must continue to spread the ball around and keep everyone involved in the passing game.

Tampa's secondary played its best game of the season last week but it's not too difficult stepping up against the Saints. SS John Lynch and DC Ronde Barber made timely plays in coverage and they must keep an eye on third-down specialist WR Kevin Lockett, who has 11 receptions that have kept drives alive.

Ultimately, the Chiefs need to run the football effectively on early downs in order to score points. Last week was the first time in seven games that Kansas City did not run the ball at least 30 times and the offensive line's inability to sustain their blocks in the second half cost them the game. RB Donnell Bennett ran hard and smart against the Colts but he'll find much less running room outside against the Bucs.

Tampa Bay bounced back from their disappointing performance at Detroit to hold Ricky Williams to just 41 yards on 14 carries. The Buccaneers must get strong play from their defensive tackle rotation, especially Warren Sapp. Opponents are beginning to double-team Sapp on nearly every snap and the constant pounding is starting to take its toll.

Look for the Bucs to bunch their linebackers tight, just inside the defensive ends, to take away the inside running game. Few teams have the speed at LB to play them so tight but guys like Derrick Brooks rarely have a hard time containing plays that are designed to go wide.

Dilfer admitted this week that he has trouble throwing the ball in Raymond James Stadium because of the swirling winds but that can't be used as an excuse if he fails to log another solid outing. Last week, Dilfer finally connected on an impact play in the passing game when he hit Jacquez Green on a 62-yard touchdown. Granted, New Orleans DC Ashley Ambrose was playing on a bum ankle, but credit Dilfer for at least attempting a pass over 20 yards.

Kansas City got some good pressure on Indianapolis' Peyton Manning last week but they must finish their pass rush with sacks. None of the Chiefs three sacks came from members of the front four but don't look for coach Gunther Cunningham to panic and start blitzing people against the marginally talented Bucs receiver corps. WR Reidel Anthony continues to disappoint, having dropped three more passes last week.

FB Mike Alstott figures to get another heavy workload for the Bucs on Sunday. Alstott only got stronger as the game progressed last week, piling up 52 of his 117 yards on the team's final drive. Running mate Warrick Dunn has yet to average more than 3.7 yards per carry in any game this season but he freelanced less last week and actually adhered to the design of the plays. If Dunn can continue to his progress in the running game it will give the Bucs the balanced running attack they've had in years past.

The Chiefs did an excellent job of containing Edgerrin James in the first half (10 att., 24 yds.) but his abilities in the passing game ultimately wore down the linebacker corps. Dunn will pose similar problems in the passing game, but the majority of Dunn's work comes on short hook-ups over the middle, as opposed to James' routes in the flat.

Tampa PK Martin Gramatica hooked another kick wide left last week and he needs to pull out of his mini-slump before it costs the team a victory. Like Parker, the Bucs' Yo Murphy also fumbled away a potential big return last Sunday. The team that minimizes its mistakes on special teams will be victorious on Sunday.