You’ve no doubt heard that the Chiefs only lack the experience to “finish” a game. You’ll be hearing that some more now since they lost a lead in the last minute for the second straight week.

But the ability to seal the deal depends less on experience and want-to than the ability to eat up the clock by running the ball and rush the passer. No lead is safe when you can’t do those things.

A 30-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday marked the second straight week that the Chiefs failed to get a first down that would have closed the door. And once again, with the game on the line, they couldn’t push a quarterback out of his comfort zone.

Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia settled into a nearly unbreakable rhythm during the fourth quarter and overtime – four of his last five drives covered 50 or more yards, and the other started at the Kansas City 3-yard line. With the Chiefs lacking even one sack for the fifth time during their 1-7 start, Garcia often looked as if he were playing touch football.

Because of injuries in their secondary, the Chiefs played fourth-quarter pass defense with Tyron Brackenridge, who was cut in training camp and re-signed last Thursday, and Maurice Leggett, an undrafted rookie.

For the second straight week, an inexperienced Chiefs defensive back was burned for a last-minute touchdown pass. In the 28-24 loss to the Jets, it was Dimitri Patterson, since released. On Sunday it was Leggett, but he and his secondary mates were working without a net.

Without a strong pass rush, there’s no place for a cornerback to hide. If a passer feels the heat, he may not have time to find his most favorable matchup. But give the Jets’ Brett Favre or Garcia all day to throw and he’s sure to zero in on his most vulnerable prey.

Tamba Hali actually was able to sack Favre on the first play of the Jets’ winning drive, only the Chiefs’ fourth sack of the year. But Favre faced little pressure after that.

The Chiefs decisively beat both the Jets and Buccaneers in the turnover battle, yet still lost. That’s not supposed to happen in the NFL. But it can happen if a quarterback can keep throwing without anybody in his face, and the Chiefs’ inability to pick up crucial first downs gives him the ball back once more than he probably deserves.

An end-zone fumble recovery gave the Chiefs a chance to run out the clock against the Buccaneers. However, their power back, Kolby Smith, went out in the second quarter with a season-ending knee injury.

That left the job of moving the chains to rookie Jamaal Charles, who had a breakout game but was drafted as a third-down back. He gained two and four yards before the drive went awry when tight end Tony Gonzalez was surprisingly penalized for offensive pass interference.

With Smith sidelined and Larry Johnson suspended for Sunday’s game at San Diego, the Chiefs lack a heavy-duty running back. That leaves them short on pawns to play a successful end game.

Not that the end game is the Chiefs’ only headache. For the second straight week, their offense managed only a field goal in the second half.

And again, they faltered on kick coverage. They allowed Leon Washington’s 37-yard punt return that set up the Jets’ winning drive, then Clifton Smith’s 97-yard kickoff return that started the Buccaneers’ comeback from a 24-3 deficit.

It is, perhaps, a measure of progress that we’re now talking about the Chiefs’ inability to hold a lead instead of their inability to get one. But even in year one of a rebuilding program, that doesn’t qualify as a redeeming virtue.