What is there left to say? What remains to be explained? The painful march of rebuilding rolled on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

New Orleans Saints 30, Chiefs 20.

It was another defeat. That’s six in a row for the Chiefs. That’s nine in the 10 games of this 2008 NFL season. That’s an unbelievable 18 of the franchise’s last 19 games.

It’s a stretch of futility that is unmatched in franchise history. In the 1977-78 seasons, the team lost 18 of 21 games at one point. The 2007-08 Chiefs already have the 18 defeats and they have two more games to reach 21.

Sunday’s loss to the Saints was a step backwards for these Chiefs. Not all the way back to the ugly performances against Oakland, Atlanta or Carolina. But after the way they played in the last three weeks there was a standard set for production and efficiency. Those standards were not met while playing New Orleans.

The offense, defense and special teams all made contributions to this defeat. At a time and place in their development where they cannot afford to help their opponent in any fashion, the Chiefs threw down the banana peel and then slipped on it themselves. In multiple ways, they made things easier for the Saints, a mediocre team that is now 5-5 and three games behind their division leader in Carolina. The Chiefs simply can’t do that and still have a chance to win.

That’s exactly what happened on Sunday. Once the Saints went up by a field goal right before half-time, they controlled the flow and momentum of the game. The Chiefs were on an uphill climb the whole way.

They didn’t have enough offense to be able to bang it into the end zone twice when they had first-and-goal. They didn’t have enough defense to put any pass rush pressure on Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He was able to complete 25 of 36 passes and was not sacked. The Chiefs applied pressure on him less than a half-dozen times.

On special teams, they again allowed a long kickoff return that set up the Saints first scoring drive. Punter Dustin Colquitt struggled, putting up numbers that are among the worst of his career. On four punts, he averaged 33.3 yards per kick. That was his gross and net averages. The only time he’s kicked worse as a pro was in his rookie season when he averaged 30.6 yards on five punts on Christmas Eve 2005 at Arrowhead.

Colquitt’s problems may be physical, given the groin and calf injuries that cost him several games earlier this season. He was also knocked down after his first kick on Sunday and limped off the field.

Injuries, inexperience, youth … they are all familiar themes to this season. They were all factors in what happened in this game. They explain things when the team shows improvement and does not win. They are excuses when the team does not get better and still can’t come out on top of the scoreboard.

What this team needed to show in each week of the second half of the ‘08 season was improvement. They had that against the Jets. They had that against the Bucs. They had that against the Chargers.

They didn’t have that against the Saints.

The beat down goes on, and they have no chance of stopping it when they beat themselves.

Read more of Bob Gretz’s coverage or Chiefs-Saints game on bobgretz.com