SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Whether they throw to Junior Seau or go deep, the San Diego Chargers need to get the ball in the air to revive their sickly offense when they play host to AFC West rival Kansas City on Sunday.

The euphoria of a 34-7 opening blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals quickly disappeared when the Chargers let Indianapolis rally for a 27-19 win to spoil their home opener last Sunday. As damaging as Peyton Manning's Colts-record 404 yards were, the Chargers offense sputtered again, providing just one touchdown.

"That's where we have to get better," said Chargers coach Mike Riley, who will experience this rivalry of original AFL teams for the first time. "What I really think we need to do, and we will do, is take more shots down the field, one way or the other."

Of course, if Seau does run some patterns as a tight end, the Chiefs probably will cover him this time.

Seau provided the most memorable moment in a winless exhibition season when he caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jim Harbaugh in his debut as part-time tight end as the Chargers built a 21-point halftime lead over the Chiefs. The reserves blew it, losing 34-27.

Seau knows it won't be as easy this time.

"I'm just trying to tell them I'm a decoy and hopefully they'll believe me. But I doubt it," he said.

As if this heated rivalry needs any more combustion, Seau tossed the ball into the stands and jumped into the arms of wide receiver Mikhael Ricks. Chiefs cornerback Cris Dishman tried to get into Seau's face before he was pushed away.

"He just wanted to be part of the dancing and everything else. He wasn't invited," Seau said.

Seau's former teammate, Chiefs defensive end Leslie O'Neal, took a more measured approach to the play than Dishman did.

"It showed us one of the reasons why we lost a lot of games last year is we didn't pay attention to detail," said O'Neal, who remains San Diego's career sacks leader with 105. "I mean, he was scot-free and nobody even checked him.

"Whether it was him or anyone else, you have to realize that those kind of things are the difference between winning games and losing games. And we'd rather have something like that happen in preseason where it doesn't count than during a season."

In two regular-season games, Seau has been in for just three plays, drawing two passes his way. One was underthrown and the other hit the umpire on the ankle.

But he is a threat.

"We used to say the only guy that Junior can't cover is if Junior were the guy running the route," said Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham, whose six-year run as San Diego's defensive line coach included Seau's rookie season of 1990 "I'm glad for him. He's a dynamic player and he's doing a lot of things well."

The Chiefs, tied atop the AFC West at 2-1 with Oakland and Seattle, are playing better than the Chargers (1-1). After an opening loss at Chicago, they had home wins over Denver and Detroit.

"I see us gaining confidence," Cunningham said. "We are what we are and we'll continue to make improvement every week. And the confidence is in their eyes. You can see it. You can feel it on the sideline. We've got some good players and it shows."

Traditionally a running team, the Chiefs have something the Chargers lack: a big-play wide receiver. Derrick Alexander ranks third in the NFL with 340 yards on 15 catches, with one touchdown.

After two games, San Diego's Jeff Graham has 93 yards and one TD on six catches. Ricks has 95 yards on five catches. New starting quarterback Jim Harbaugh has yet to have even a 200-yard game and his long passes have lacked zip. San Diego's offense has provided just three touchdowns and is ranked 24th in the league.

"A lot of teams haven't seen us go deep, and I think we've been concentrating on getting Natrone (Means) on a roll," Ricks said. "I think we need to try some deep balls, because the cornerbacks, (James) Hasty and Dishman, are real aggressive and they've been interfering a lot, so I think we'll be trying to use all our weapons. It's just something we need to do."

Dishman has a team-high four penalties this year.

San Diego's secondary is beat up, with cornerback Terrance Shaw doubtful with a sprained ankle and strong safety Rodney Harrison questionable with a strained hamstring.

KANSAS CITY Season schedule and results

SAN DIEGO 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 4:15pm ET October 10 New England 1:00pm ET October 21 @Baltimore 8:20pm ET October 31 San Diego 1:00pm ET November 7 @Indianapolis 1:00pm ET 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 19 @Cincinnati W 34-7 September 26 Indianapolis L 19-27 October 3 Kansas City 4:15pm ET October 10 @Detroit 1:00pm ET October 17 Seattle 4:05pm ET October 24 Green Bay 4:05pm ET October 31 @Kansas City 1:00pm ET November 7 Denver 4:15pm ET November 14 @Oakland 4:05pm ET November 21 Chicago 4:15pm ET November 28 @Minnesota 1:00pm ET December 5 Cleveland 4:15pm ET December 12 @Seattle 4:05pm ET December 19 @Miami 1:00pm ET December 26 Oakland 4:05pm ET January 2 @Denver 4:15pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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