"Assembling a successful offensive game plan for the struggling Chiefs was going to be difficult enough for Sunday's game against the Steelers.

Todd Haley's task has become harder now that he's preparing the Chiefs to play Pittsburgh without leading receiver Dwayne Bowe, who was suspended by the NFL for four games for violation of the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

The Chiefs last week lost their leading rusher when they released Larry Johnson. They were able to find a way to beat the Raiders 16-10 with Jamaal Charles rushing for more than 100 yards.

But Bowe was their leading receiver in Oakland, with six catches and 91 yards. The Steelers are also quite a bit more formidable than the Raiders. Pittsburgh is second in the league in total defense and first in rushing defense.

Haley, the Chiefs' head coach and offensive coordinator, spent no time Wednesday feeling sorry for himself but also realized that his bid to make the Chiefs more competitive offensively suffered a setback.

"That's part of the game," Haley said. "It's no different from an injury. We've lost a player that was a starter on our offense, and somebody has to step up. They're not going to cancel the game. We've got to be ready to go.

"We're trying to find ourselves, trying to find an identity exactly what we are. I feel like we're making progress as a team. I feel like we're making progress as a defense. Offensively, we're kind of in that same deal. Every Monday and Tuesday, (the offensive coaches) are sitting in there (and asking), 'How can we be better than what we are? How can we be better on third down? What can be done to give us a chance to win?' That's how we're all kind of thinking about it.""