There's been two sides of the Utah Blaze this season. One side made a joke out of the Pittsburgh Power on Saturday. One side makes a joke out of itself.

After pounding Pittsburgh (7-6) in a 81-40 rout and breaking a three-game losing skid, it's not hard to guess which team Utah (6-7) would like to be.

"It just felt good to finally win again," wide receiver Ernie Pierce says. "We got into a rhythm and had fun. That was the best part: We had fun out there but we also executed."

The Blaze rallied around each other last week, spurred on by the return of coach Ron James to the sidelines after a two-week absence. But emotion has only carried Utah so far: The team has yet to win back-to-back games this season and is struggling to stay at the top of the playoff race.

There are some promising signs. After a few subpar weeks, the Blaze offense converted in a major way, and quarterback Tommy Grady threw 10 touchdowns against the Power. The special teams unit was not spectacular, James says, but new kicker Kyle Brotzman is giving the team an edge on kickoff coverage.

"It's nice to be on the positive side of a butt-whooping for a change," James says. "We have to take good things out of that win."

But a week after facing a pair of backup passers, Utah will have to figure out how to put the heat on Kansas City Command quarterback Stephen Wasil. Against Cleveland on Sunday, Wasil scored seven touchdowns while leading the Command (5-9) to a 50-41 victory.

The Blaze also face the potential pressure of a nationally televised game. For the second and last time this regular season, Utah will play Kansas City on NFL Network, offering the players who seek to move up exposure.

The Blaze's last NFL Network game ended in a disappointing 50-48 loss to Iowa. But several players say this time, they're not even thinking about being on TV.

"In my mind, I'm always in front of the camera," defensive tackle Gabe Long says. "When the game is over, I'm going to watch that film every week. So when I'm on the field, I just focus on the man in front of me and try to make a play."

kgoon@sltrib.com Twitter: @kylegoon —

AFL: Kansas City at Utah

P EnergySolutions Arena, 6 p.m.

Radio • 1280 AM/104.7 FM The Zone

Records • Utah Blaze 6-7, Kansas City Command 5-9

Note • The Blaze try to string their first pair of wins together against Kansas City.