SAN DIEGO -- The vociferous chant with 3 minutes, 41 seconds left in Sunday's game is all you need to know in terms of how the Chargers fared against the Kansas City Chiefs: "Marrrty, Marrrty, Marrrty, Marrrty."

It has taken Norv Turner just four games to turn a 2006 postseason team into a 2007 last-place team and leave Chargers fans pleading for the return of former coach Marty Schottenheimer, who guided the team to a franchise-best 14-2 record last season before being fired.

The vocal discord from the 65,175 fans at Qualcomm Stadium was prompted by a second-half meltdown that saw the Chargers suffer their third straight loss, a 30-16 Chiefs victory. Residing in last place in the AFC West with a 1-3 record is hardly the type of four-game start normally associated with Super Bowl contenders.

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda," linebacker Shawne Merriman said. "It's times like this that you get very frustrated. You don't quite know what the problem is, but whatever it is you want to get it fixed.

"If people don't know what a hard time is, it's right now."

The Chargers let a 10-point halftime lead slip away against a team that had scored just two touchdowns in the first 14 quarters of the season. The Chiefs scored 24 unanswered second-half points, including two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The go-ahead score came when Kansas City faced third-and-19 from its own 49 early in the fourth quarter. Chiefs rookie Dwayne Bowe caught a short pass, eluding sixth-year cornerback Quentin Jammer, and raced the last 40 yards untouched to give Kansas City a 23-16 edge with 11 minutes, 46 seconds to play.

After the play, linebacker Shaun Phillips was livid with defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. The two exchanged words, and Cottrell followed Phillips 10 yards down the field as Phillips waved his arms to show his disgust.

Turner said afterward that he wasn't sure what the disagreement was about (Chargers assistant coaches aren't available to the media after games) and Phillips downplayed the heat-of-the-moment exchange.

"It wasn't really a confrontation with Ted Cottrell," Phillips said. "It was just me being frustrated. It was not personal."

Four-plus minutes later, quarterback Philip Rivers (211 yards, two interceptions) committed his third turnover of the game when he was sacked by Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson and fumbled.

Rookie cornerback Tyron Brackenridge scooped the ball up on the bounce and went 50 yards to give the Chiefs a 30-16 lead.

On the Chargers' next possession, receiver Vincent Jackson dropped what would have been a 45-yard touchdown pass and the drive ended with four consecutive incompletions from the Kansas City 5. That's when frustration on the part of the fans overheated like a run-down jalopy in the desert and the chants for Marty reached their highest decibels.

Turner acknowledged hearing the unrest of the paying customers.

"There's nothing I can do about that," Turner said. "The things that I've got to be concerned with is concentrating on the things that we can control as a football team."

The players heard the fans as well and understood why the verbal catcalls were so pronounced.

"They pay their money and they have a right to voice their opinions just like anybody else," said running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who had a season-high 132 rushing yards. "They showed their frustration with us and how we've been playing. I can't say that I blame them."

Said Merriman: "The fans pay money to come see us play. They can say whatever they want to say."

The second-half frustration was a vast turnaround from the first 11-plus minutes when the Chargers cruised to a 10-0 lead. They had opportunities to pad the lead, but settled for two Nate Kaeding field goals and led 16-6 at halftime. Both Kansas City field goals came off Chargers turnovers -- a fumble by Michael Turner and Ty Law's interception of Rivers. Overall, the Chargers committed four turnovers.

"We gave them opportunities to stay in the game with two turnovers in the first half," Norv Turner said. "In the third quarter, I felt we had opportunities to put the game away or certainly build a lead. We didn't take advantage of them."

So instead of being mentioned as one of the league's elite teams, the Chargers find themselves facing a pivotal game this Sunday in Denver, a place where they traditionally struggle.

Furthermore, the happy faces after the opening-week victory over Chicago have been replaced by gloomy looks of disappointment.

After the previous week's stunning loss at Green Bay, Tomlinson said he felt more dejected than at any point in his seven-year NFL career. He was asked if he felt the same way after the Chargers' third consecutive loss.

"Yes, probably worse," Tomlinson said. "You have to continue to play football and hope things turn around."

Otherwise, the Chargers can expect chants of Marrrty, Marrrty, Marrrty, Marrrty to become as commonplace as tailgating at future home games.

Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.