Jeff Saturday says the Chiefs should win the AFC West, but after losing four of five, the team is showing serious weaknesses. (1:14)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Nineteen seasons as an NFL head coach have given Andy Reid some experience in trying to pull a team out of a slump.

That’s a good thing, because Reid is now facing one of the biggest challenges of his career in that regard. The Kansas City Chiefs have lost four of their past five games, the latest defeat being perhaps the most discouraging regular-season loss of his time in Kansas City.

The Chiefs, one of the NFL’s top scoring teams early in the season, were held without a touchdown in Sunday’s 12-9 overtime loss to the struggling New York Giants. New York entered the game at 1-8 and having allowed a total of 82 points over its two previous games.

The bright side for the Chiefs is that at 6-4 they still lead the AFC West by two games over the Chargers and Raiders, both 4-6. The Chiefs have December games against both teams at Arrowhead Stadium.

Through their 5-0 start, the Chiefs led the NFL in scoring at 32.8 points per game. In losing four of their past five, those numbers have dropped to 20th at 19.6 points per game. AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

“The important thing is that everyone sticks together and keeps working," Reid said when asked about the key factor in reversing the course of a slumping team. “This locker room has that characteristic. We have to make sure we do that, and as coaches we have to make sure we are putting guys in the right position. When you’re in that position, you have to make a play.

“It’s tough to win in the National Football League. There is parity. It doesn’t matter if [the opponent is] 1-8 or whatever it might be. ... You have to bring your A-game every week, and we have to get ourselves back to playing better."

The Chiefs have gone through rough stretches of varying degrees every season since Reid joined the Chiefs in 2013:

2013: The Chiefs started 9-0 and were the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten team. They went into a 2-5 tailspin down the stretch, with their only wins coming against two opponents (Washington and Oakland) struggling worse than they were. Their wild-card playoff game then mirrored their season: They jumped out to a 38-10 lead in the third quarter against the Colts before collapsing and losing 45-44.

2014: The Chiefs started 2-3 and then won five straight before losing three in a row. They finished by winning two of their final three games, but by then it was too late for the Chiefs (9-7) to recover a spot in the playoffs.

2015 : The Chiefs started 1-5 before winning their final 10 regular-season games plus a wild-card playoff game against the Texans.

2016: The Chiefs started 2-2 and were fortunate it wasn’t worse. They finished by winning 10 of their last 12 in the regular season to win their first AFC West title since 2010. They lost their divisional-round playoff game to the Steelers.

Of all these slumps, their current situation most resembles that of 2013, unfortunately for the Chiefs. They started this season 5-0 and were the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team.

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The 2013 Chiefs crashed on defense after their 9-0 start. Those Chiefs in the first nine games were first in the league in points allowed (12.3 points per game), eighth in yards allowed (327 per game) and first in defensive third-down conversion rate (25.8 percent). In the final seven games they were last in yards allowed (420.4 per game), 24th in points allowed (27.7 per game) and 28th in third-down conversion rate (43.1 percent).

This year’s Chiefs, meanwhile, have dropped drastically on offense. Through their 5-0 start the Chiefs were first in scoring (32.8 points per game), second in yards per game (414.2) and fifth in offensive third-down conversion rate (46.9 percent).

Since then they are 20th in scoring (19.6 points per game), 21st in yards (327.6 per game) and 26th in third-down conversion rate (33.3 percent).