KANSAS CITY — While everybody raves about how lucky Denver’s been, Kansas City coach Herm Edwards finds something even more admirable about the unbeaten Broncos.

They’ve been smart, Edwards says. Most of all, they’ve been steadfast. They put up with the inevitable growing pains of young players, particularly quarterback Jay Cutler, and are now reaping the rewards.

It’s the sort of thing a coach in Edwards’ seat would quickly note. He’s struggling with a restive, unruly fan base and an 0-3 team loaded with young players who are experiencing the same fatal errors that Mike Shanahan’s Broncos displayed while Cutler and other young athletes were coming around.

“Mike’s been patient. He’s been very patient with (Cutler),” said Edwards. “Brought him along, and the guy’s gotten better. He’s learned from his errors. And they stuck together, and the guy’s just gotten better and gotten better. Now all of a sudden, he’s playing well and he’s got some confidence.”

It’s the same future Edwards foresees for the Chiefs (0-3) once they work their way past this painful process of on-the-job training. The next test in the education will be dished out by the Broncos (3-0) today at Arrowhead Stadium.

With Cutler ranking second in the league with 914 yards passing, the Broncos are one of five 3-0 teams and have a passing offense ranking second.

“They’ve won some close games. They’re putting up a lot of points, and he’s doing a great job and that’s what you like to see,” Edwards said.

“Here’s a guy they developed at quarterback. How about that? They developed a quarterback. They drafted a guy three years ago, and he finally is playing good after three years. He’s playing what they thought they were going to get. They sat there, and they developed the guy. And it’s taken that long for them to do it.”

Brodie Croyle, in his third year with Kansas City, is supposed to be the quarterback of the future but is having trouble staying on the field. Felled by a shoulder injury, he’s marking time until he can come back, possibly in mid-October.

Cutler himself feels bad for his counterpart.

“They put me in as a rookie, let me develop for a year or so and here we are,” said Cutler, who’s 2-0 against the Chiefs. “You’ve got to be in there to learn and experience stuff. I talk to Brodie every once in a while. It’s tough when you get hurt as a young quarterback because you don’t get those snaps. You don’t get that time in practice.”

The Chiefs will be out to win for the first time in 13 games, a franchise-worst skid that has fans calling for the scalp of general manager Carl Peterson and just about everyone else in the front office whose name they know how to pronounce.

A victory, Edwards said, would be “like three Christmases rolled into one. And New Year’s. And everything else.”

For the third straight week, Edwards is making a change at quarterback.

This week it’s Damon Huard’s turn to take the reins. The 12-year veteran, who was benched in favor of Tyler Thigpen in the third week, now sends Thigpen back to the sideline and gets his second start in a season that is threatening to turn into something totally forgettable.

Adding to the Chiefs’ angst will be the name of the man who’ll be snapping the ball to Cutler. It’s none other than Casey Wiegmann, who served as KC’s highly capable center from 2001-07, helping anchor what used to be one of the best offensive lines in Chiefs history.

Signed by the Broncos after the Chiefs cut him, Wiegmann became the Broncos’ starter when Tom Nalen went on injured reserve.

“Casey was such a great player from Kansas City for so many years, and we were just shocked that he was on the street,” said Shanahan. “When we saw that he was on the street, we just tried to gobble him up as quickly as we could knowing that any injury is possible during the season.”