KIRKLAND, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks are running out of excuses -- and time.

	Charlie Rogers and the Seahawks couldn't escape the Broncos in overtime Sunday.

If they're going to win the AFC West, they'll have to end their losing streak at four games by defeating division-leading Kansas City on Sunday in the Kingdome and the New York Jets on the road Jan. 2.

If the season ended now, the Seahawks would miss the playoffs for the 11th season in a row, the longest drought in the NFL.

"I'm a little bit frustrated and disappointed," quarterback Jon Kitna said Monday. "But I'm very optimistic and very positive that we can get this thing done."

In a bizarre finish Sunday, the Seahawks lost 36-30 in overtime when Denver's Glenn Cadrez picked up Kitna's second lost fumble of the game and ran it back 37 yards for a touchdown.

That loss gave the Chiefs a one-game lead over the Seahawks with two games left. Four weeks ago, after a victory in Kansas City, the Seahawks led the division by three games with an 8-2 record.

Sunday's defeat was made even harder to accept for the Seahawks because of their late-game comeback. Seattle rallied to tie it with a touchdown and a field goal in the final minute.

"We've just got to come out swinging this week," Kitna said. "This is still ours for the taking. A lot of times you want things to be easy for you. But I've never had things go that way for me in my life. So it kind of makes it sweeter when you have to earn it this way."

Other Seahawks players echoed Kitna's thoughts.

"Our backs are really up against the wall now," said Kerry Joseph, who made a leaping grab of an onside kick that led to Todd Peterson's 45-yard field goal with nine seconds left in regulation. "We definitely have to win our next two.

"That was a tough way to lose. We've just got to resolve that loss and put it behind us."

Kansas City comes to Seattle with a four-game winning streak. The Chiefs haven't lost since losing to the Seahawks 31-19 in a game in which Ricky Watters scored three touchdowns.

"We know we can beat them, and they have to come here to play us," Joseph said. "We just have to get back on the winning track."

The Seahawks aren't playing like a playoff contender.

Kitna's two fumbles gave Denver a touchdown and a field goal, and Seattle's defense gave away a lot, too. The defense allowed season highs of 36 points and 430 yards, including 260 yards rushing.

"We're just not playing real well right now," said Joseph, a backup safety.

Derrick Mayes, Seattle's leading receiver, caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Kitna with 54 seconds left. He hopes the Seahawks who show up for the final two games will be the team that had a five-game winning streak before going into its four-game tailspin.

"We've got two games left to pretty much define what we've got here," Mayes said. "We can't wait any longer. We can't procrastinate any longer. We've waited until the very last minute."

Mike Holmgren, Seattle's first-year coach and general manager who was lured to Seattle by billionaire owner Paul Allen, is trying to keep a calm demeanor in the throes of his team's slump. He was surprised by his team's 8-2 start. Now, he has the first four-game losing streak of his coaching career.

"I'm just as surprised about this," Holmgren said. "This shows how young we are, this shows how we're developing, and this shows at times we can be very good, and at times we can be kind of scary bad."