ALAMEDA – The Kansas City Chiefs had all the makings of a pitiful offense when they played the Raiders on Sept. 14.

They were down to their third quarterback, Tyler Thigpen. He looked the part of a third-string signal caller when he completed 14 of 33 passes with a touchdown and an interception in the Raiders' 23-8 win. The Raiders won't see the same Thigpen when they host the Chiefs on Sunday.

"They're 180 degrees different offensively because of Thigpen," Raiders interim coach Tom Cable said. "He's a tremendous threat to run the ball."

Thigpen has rushed for 203 yards this season. He has thrown for 1,577 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Eleven of his touchdowns have come in his past five starts. Thigpen is in his second season out of Coastal Carolina and had played in only one game before facing the Raiders in September.

"You're talking about a guy going into really his first year of playing and starting," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "Last week (in a 54-31 loss to Buffalo) he had a little hiccup, turned the ball over too much (three times).

"But he's done a good job, basically in an offense that we've kind of put together here on the fly."

Thigpen has had success because the Chiefs have used a no-huddle offense and have used Thigpen's ability to run to their advantage.

Thigpen, a running back as a high school senior, averages 7.5 yards a carry. But he maintains the offense isn't drastically different even though he is more mobile than Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle, who began the season as the top-two quarterbacks.

"Really and truly, we have the same plays in there," Thigpen said. "We have a different way of running it, getting to the line instead of huddling up."

Thigpen said the true difference for him is that he has game experience. His play has the Chiefs evaluating closely because the team will have a high draft pick next spring and must decide if Thigpen can be an NFL starter.

Thigpen expects to play better than he did in his first game against the Raiders. But with a 1-10 record this season, that's not the most important thing to Thigpen.

"Really and truly, I'd rather win than play good, to be honest with you," Thigpen said. "I've come a long ways since coming into this league. I've still got a long way to go and am going to continue working hard to get on the right track."

Stats overrated – Of all the game balls awarded after the Raiders' 31-10 win over Denver, two went to players that didn't record a statistic.

Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly had no tackles or sacks, and linebacker Marquis Cooper had no tackles in picking up the special-teams honor.

"(Kelly) didn't get his hands on the ball carrier as much or on the quarterback, but he's beating double teams and he's got a linebacker running free behind him," Cable said.

"Really, at the end of the day, when you're a D-lineman and you're an inside player, that's your job."

Cooper signed with the Raiders on Nov. 5.

"He's making plays in coverage and blocking really, really well in the kickoff return team," Cable said. "It's a little bit of everything. He's jumped in and become a core player right away."

Fitness honor – Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will be presented with the President's Volunteer Service Award before Sunday's game by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

Asomugha is being recognized for his work in the community that promotes youth health.

Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/raidersblog.