jamaal charles chiefs
Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has had to defend his limited used of Charles in Kansas City's loss to Oakland. Reuters

Three NFL teams have just one win entering Week 9, but the Kansas City Chiefs may be the worst of them all.

In seven games, the Chiefs have never held a lead in regulation, something that hasn’t been done in over 70 years. Their one victory came on a game-winning field goal in overtime, against the New Orleans Saints.

Head coach Romeo Crennel says all of the losses have taken a toll on his club.

"When you lose, it gets tough on you, mentally, you know?" said Crennel. "You wonder about who you played, what you could have done differently, why things are happening the way they're happening.”

Now, Kansas City looks to get something going against one of their division rivals. They’ll open up the Week 9 schedule as they visit the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

The game will be broadcast on the NFL Network at 8:20 p.m. ET. You can watch a live stream online at nfl.com. The Web site will air free live “look-ins” throughout the entire contest.

While the Chiefs have struggled in 2012, the Chargers have been just as bad in their last couple of games. San Diego has lost three straight, including blowing a 24-point lead to Denver and failing to score a touchdown at Cleveland.

Along with Crennel, Chargers head coach Norv Turner has received the bulk of the blame for his team’s lack of success. Known as an offensive guru, Turner’s team has struggled to get in the end zone lately. San Diego’s coach is searching for answers, as the Chargers haven’t scored a touchdown in their last six quarters.

"We've not been able to put together the kind of consistency we need to," said Turner. "It is an extremely challenging situation for our football team."

The Chargers recent struggles may be more unexplainable than that of the Chiefs. Philip Rivers was once considered one of the best quarterbacks in football. In his ninth season, he seems to have taken a step back. His 82.4 quarterback rating is tied for 19th in the league, and he’s thrown just one more touchdown than interception.

The Chiefs struggles aren’t that difficult to explain. KC might have the worst combination of quarterbacks in the NFL. Matt Cassell has the worst quarterback rating of all full-time starters. He’s only starting over career-backup Brady Quinn because he suffered an injury against the Oakland Raiders last week.

Jamaal Charles will probably have to have a big game to give the Chiefs a chance. The running back averages five yards per carry, but doesn’t always get an opportunity to succeed. He only ran the ball five times in Week 8.

Even with the Chargers struggles, they are still very much alive in the AFC West. Their 3-4 record puts them just one game behind the Broncos.

The consensus betting line at Las Vegas sportsbooks has San Diego as 7.5-point favorites. Kansas City has only covered one point spread this season.

Prediction: Both teams have been bad this year, but the Chiefs have been even worse. Unless Charles has one of his best games of the season, it’s hard to see Kansas City’s offense having much success. Look for the Chargers to make it back to .500.

Predicted Score: San Diego 24, Kansas City 10

National Football League