If there was any swagger left from the Pittsburgh Steelers' record sixth Super Bowl title, it's gone now. They're scuffling, losers of two in a row, their star quarterback hurt and a return to the playoffs — much less another Super Bowl — far from certain.

"This is disappointing. We felt like we'd come out here and start our streak of wins," receiver Hines Ward said after the league's second-best defense let a lead get away in regulation and the Steelers fell 27-24 in overtime to lowly Kansas City on Sunday. "Right now we don't know where we're at. We've just got to watch the film, evaluate it and move on."

BOX SCORE: Chiefs 27, Steelers 24

There's much for the Steelers (6-4) to assess. A week after they failed to score a touchdown in a loss to AFC North-leading Cincinnati, the offense coughed up three turnovers that led to 10 crucial Kansas City points. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times in the fourth quarter and in overtime, taking a blow to the head on the last one that knocked him out of the game. Their kick coverage broke down again, allowing a fourth return for a TD in five games.

The Chiefs (3-7) forced overtime by driving 91 yards for a touchdown with less than five minutes left in regulation. They then won it with a defensive stop on Pittsburgh's first possession of overtime, Matt Cassel's 61-yard pass to Chris Chambers and a 22-yard field goal by rookie Ryan Succop with 8:28 left in the OT.

The Steelers' final indignity: Succop was the 256th and last pick of the NFL's April draft. His kick gave Kansas City its first win at home in 11 games.

"This job is not for the faint of heart, and not a lot of games have been won around here," said Chiefs rookie head coach Todd Haley. "It's nice to get a little reward against a team like that. The guys showed heart and guts."

Those are now prerequisites for the Steelers as they head into the final six weeks, starting Sunday at Baltimore.

They're at risk of becoming the fourth defending Super Bowl champion in five years to fail to make the playoffs. "What we won't do," coach Mike Tomlin insisted, "is point fingers. What we won't do is come apart. What we will do is get back in the lab and prepare for our next challenge and stand in the face of this adversity."

Roethlisberger is the first concern. He threw for 398 yards and three TDs Sunday, but left after being sandwiched by linebackers Derrick Johnson and Andy Studebaker on the fourth play of overtime. Tomlin called it a "concussion-oriented thing," and said the team wouldn't know more until he was further evaluated.

Five-time Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu's status also is uncertain. He sat out with a knee ligament injury.

And Pittsburgh must stop the special-teams bleeding. The Steelers fell into an immediate hole when Kansas City's Jamaal Charles broke the opening kickoff for a 97-yard TD. The four scoring returns they've surrendered are the most in a season since 1998.

Roethlisberger passed the Steelers back to 17-7 lead by halftime. But a strike to tight end Heath Miller bounced off Miller and into the hands of the Chiefs' Studebaker early in the third quarter. That led to a KC touchdown. Roethlisberger was at fault on a second interception, again by Studebaker, who rumbled from the Chiefs' 2-yard line to Pittsburgh's 8 to set up a Succop field goal that tied it 17-17.

Enlarge By Denny Medley, US Presswire Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger did not finish the loss in Kansas City after sustaining a head injury.