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timvp
10-01-2004, 12:26 PM
BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Chiefs would like a repeat performance of last year's meeting against the Baltimore Ravens .

Heading into Monday night's game here against the Ravens, the Chiefs are looking to avoid going 0-4 for the first time since 1980.

Last season, the Chiefs rolled to three straight double-digit wins to start the year before posting a 17-10 win over the Ravens on September 28.

In what was billed as a showdown between premier running backs Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis , Dante Hall stole the show. Hall returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown with 5:08 remaining, lifting the Chiefs to the victory.

But the circumstances entering this game are far different for the Chiefs, who were a favorite to reach the Super Bowl at the start of the season. But they have struggled badly on defense, and already have matched their loss total from all of last season.

Last week, the Chiefs squandered a fourth-quarter lead in a 24-21 home loss to Houston.

In last season's contest, Lewis won the battle of the backs, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Holmes, who left Baltimore to sign with Kansas City and won the rushing title in 2001, gained 90 yards on 22 carries. Lewis caught four passes for 44 yards. Holmes also had four receptions for just 13 yards.

Holmes spent four seasons with the Ravens and was a member of their Super Bowl team in 2000, where he was a backup to Lewis, who was drafted in the first round.

Holmes signed with the Chiefs as a free agent and, after picking up his Super Bowl ring, he is now arguably the NFL's best all-around running back. He already is the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher with 4,941 yards.

While Holmes has shined with the Chiefs, the Ravens have to be happy with Lewis, who rushed for 2,066 yards last season, the second-best total in NFL history.

After getting off to a slow start in the first two games, Lewis broke out in last week's 23-9 victory at Cincinnati. He rushed for 186 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.

The Ravens' defense also came up big against the Bengals, forcing four turnovers and registering four sacks.

This contest was expected to feature two of the NFL's best tight ends in Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez and Baltimore's Todd Heap . But Heap is expected to miss the game with a sprained ankle.

Matchup to watch: Gonzalez, who had eight catches for 106 yards last week, against strong safety Ed Reed , who had two interceptions last week.