"This is not the same offense as a year ago," Waters said after an 81-yard, 16-play, nearly nine-minute first-possession scoring drive jump-started a 24-20 Kansas City win -- the Chiefs' first taste of victory since last Oct. 21.

"We overcame a lot of long downs on that touchdown drive," Waters added. "Today you saw a much more confident quarterback than we saw last year."

No doubt, the first of his two preseason series was exactly what quarterback Brodie Croyle needed following his 0-6 performance as a starter in the Chiefs' nine-game losing streak that ended the 2007 campaign.

With Croyle at the helm, Kansas City converted all five third-down opportunities, two of which involved situations of third-and-10 or more.

Four rookies -- not including injured and absent first-round picks Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert -- caught momentum-sustaining passes in the drive.

Running back Jamaal Charles, a third-round pick, converted a third-and-10 on a 12-yard dump-and-run pass. Receiver Will Franklin, a fourth-rounder, converted on third-and-15 with a tough 22-yard catch between defenders. Third-rounder Brad Cottam, a starter in double tight end formations, had an 18-yard reception. And undrafted fullback Mike Cox negated a costly second-and-goal holding call against replacement left tackle Herb Taylor with a 12-yard catch-and-run that set up Larry Johnson's 5-yard TD.

The opening drive, coming against Chicago's top-line defenders, was a confidence lift for a group that desperately needed one. The Chiefs were next-to-worst in scoring and total offense last year, so new coordinator Chan Gailey's power-running, play-action passing offense needed something to smile about during the installation process.

"We wanted to sustain a good first drive, convert third downs, get the running game going and get some points," said Croyle, whose five-yard scramble produced a first down on a busted third-and-3 play deep in the Chiefs end. "It couldn't have worked out better.

"That was something we needed," Croyle added. "It's something we can build on."

It helped, too, when veteran backup Damon Huard -- whose future in Kansas City was looking shaky before Edwards' favorite Chad Pennington signed with Miami -- led the young Chiefs reserves on a scoring drive in the two-minute drill right before halftime.

Maurice Price, battling to convince Edwards to keep five receivers -- an unlikely prospect -- caught two passes for 33 yards in the drive, and Jeff Webb had two for 29 in the 75-yard, eight-play march capped by Price's TD catch.

Kansas City's defensive reserves couldn't hold the 14-3 halftime lead.

Tyler Thigpen, battling Huard for the backup quarterback spot, threw a killer pick to set up a 25-yard Chicago scoring drive. But down 20-17 with 3:19 remaining, Thigpen engineered a 60-yard, six-play drive for the winning TD, a 27-yard downfield strike to former Chicago Arena League star Bobby Sippio.

OK, so it was just a preseason victory that will count for nothing in the 2008 standings. But for the rebuilding Chiefs, who last year went winless in the preseason while scoring only two offensive touchdowns, any victory accompanied by a show of offensive promise was important.

"We needed a win just to get that taste (of losing) out of our mouths," Edwards said. "We needed to win the first one, we really did."

CAMP CALENDAR: The Chiefs returned from Chicago to their River Falls, Wis., training camp for a final six days of training. They are scheduled to break camp Friday before their preseason home opener Saturday against Arizona. They will work out of their Arrowhead practice facility the rest of the preseason.