KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a psychological drama of bait and switch, a veteran team in one short week lured a kid quarterback into its confidence with cotton-candy defenses and then left him suddenly holding the bag.
Oh what a tangled web they wove, the Kansas City Chiefs, who in two acts on consecutive weekends reduced rookie Todd Marinovich from prince to pauper.
In Saturday's 10-6 wild-card victory over the Raiders before a crowd of 75,827 at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs exposed Marinovich for what he is: a bright, raw talent with a lot to learn.
The two-game series could not have been better scripted by the Chiefs, who defeated the Raiders last week while allowing Marinovich enough rope to earn him another start in Saturday's more important playoff game.
Then, surrounded by the comforts of home, the Chiefs' secondary pulled the twine, mostly by culling the wit of an 11-year NFL football film student named Deron Cherry, who claimed two of Marinovich's four interceptions.
With a single celluloid strip of Marinovich from which to work, Cherry had what he needed to foil a young man's best-laid plans. While others read this week of Marinovich's impressive debut in last week's Raider loss, Cherry read the rookie quarterback's eyes.
"I knew where he was going to throw the ball most of the time," Cherry said.
The adjustments on defense weren't groundbreaking or dramatic, only effective enough to eliminate the Raiders from Super Bowl consideration. The Chiefs assigned Cherry the role of "lurk," a part that would ask him to cheat up close to the line of scrimmage and shadow Marinovich's every move.
Cherry stepped in front of Marinovich's first pass and returned the interception 17 yards. In the second quarter, the Chiefs rushed the quarterback with a blitz, and Marinovich offered up his second interception to Cherry, who returned the ball 29 yards to the Raider 11.
It set up the game's only touchdown, an 11-yard pass from Steve DeBerg to Fred Jones, and set off a controversy. Jones made the catch out of bounds in the back of the end zone but, after some hesitation, the officials ruled that a push by Raider cornerback Terry McDaniel had forced him out.
"That was not a touchdown," Raider safety Ronnie Lott insisted afterward. "I can't believe they didn't replay it."
They didn't replay it because judgment calls are not subject to reviews. "Then why have replay?" Lott asked? "That's what it's about, judgments."
Lott and the Raiders were left to wonder about their decisions, their chances, their season.
As much as Marinovich acted his NFL age, the Raiders remained in the game until the end, when a potential game-winning drive ended disastrously with four penalties in a five-play sequence and finally, Marinovich's fourth interception with 2:15 left.
Neither team did much with opportunities. Kansas City kicker Nick Lowery, who had made 21 consecutive field goals until missing two last week, missed attempts of 33 and 47 yards in the first half.
A fumble by tailback Harvey Williams at the Raider 29 ended another drive in the second.
Lott intercepted a pass by DeBerg and returned it 35 yards in the second quarter, leading to a 20-yard punt by Jeff Gossett.
But in the second half, Lott dropped two more potential interceptions.
"That's what this game is about," Lott said, dejectedly. "It boils down to making plays."
And taking advantages of your advantage. The Chiefs held a 7-3 lead at the half, but it was quite tenuous considering Kansas City lost All-Pro linebacker Derrick Thomas in the second quarter because of an irregular heartbeat.
When the Chiefs added linebackers Chris Martin and Tracy Rogers to the injury list with knee strains, Coach Marty Schottenheimer considered switching to a 4-3 defense because he was running out of bodies.
Martin limped back to play the second half, but the Raiders had taken their own body count and decided to pound 250-pound tailback Nick Bell into some obvious defensive soft spots.
Bell, who finished with a career-high 107 yards in 20 carries, gained 47 of those on eight carries in an 11-play drive to open the third quarter.
The Raiders, though, had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Jeff Jaeger, which cut the lead to 7-6.
The teams were determined to slug it out from there, the Raiders with Bell and the Chiefs with Barry Word, who finished with 130 yards in 33 carries.
The beleaguered Raider defense was able this week to keep the bleeding to a minimum, holding the Chiefs to 3.4 yards per carry.
But the Raiders' last three drives ended with turnovers in Kansas City territory.
Late in the third quarter, linebacker Lonnie Marts, filling in for Thomas, stripped the ball from tailback Marcus Allen after a short pass. Nose tackle Dan Saleaumua recovered at the 38.
From there, the Chiefs, primarily pounding the line with Word, moved the ball to the Raider four. But three carries by Word left the Chiefs short of the goal line.
