DeBerg Lasts, His Team Is First : Chiefs: Teammates give veteran quarterback much credit for their success.

When quarterback Steve DeBerg came into the NFL in 1978, he didn’t think he’d survive very long.

“I didn’t think I’d last until I was 23,” DeBerg said.

Thirteen years and four teams later, DeBerg is still standing.

Among the NFL’s oldest quarterbacks at 36, DeBerg has rejuvenated the Kansas City Chiefs since he was acquired two seasons ago from Tampa Bay. He has led the Chiefs from last to a share of first place in the AFC West.

“Anybody who can stay in the league for as long as he has and play at the level he’s played at is a great quarterback,” Chief wide receiver Emile Harry said. “I think a lot needs to be said for him because he’s a big reason for our success this season. Whether they give him credit or not, he’s got my full esteem and my full confidence in his ability. I think he’s a great quarterback.”

DeBerg threw three touchdown passes as the Chiefs defeated the Raiders, 27-24, Sunday at the Coliseum to move into a first-place tie with the Raiders. Although the Raiders and Chiefs share first place in the AFC West, the Chiefs have the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker because they have beaten the Raiders twice.

Criticized after Kansas City’s offense went two games without scoring a touchdown, DeBerg has thrown six touchdown passes in his past two games, in which the Chiefs have scored 54 points.

Although he’s not as spectacular as Joe Montana and John Elway, DeBerg is one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, completing more passes than Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Namath, Len Dawson, George Blanda, Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw.

Although The Chiefs are primarily a running team with Christian Okoye and Barry Word, DeBerg has passed for 310 yards in the past two games.

The Raiders neutralized Okoye and Word, limiting them to 82 yards, so DeBerg passed for 149 yards. Using a lot of play-action passes, DeBerg completed 12 of 21 attempts and was sacked only once.

“We tried to pass the last time we played the Raiders, but the weather eliminated a lot of our game plan,” DeBerg said. “But today we were able to come up with some big plays in the passing game and it really helped us.”

With the Chiefs trailing, 7-3, DeBerg hit four of five passes for 52 yards as the Chiefs marched 52 yards in five plays to take a 10-7 lead on DeBerg’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Harry with 39 seconds left in the first half.

After the Chiefs recovered a fumble by Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder at the 11 on the first series of the second half, DeBerg threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to running back Bill Jones.

After the Raiders marched 72 yards to a tying touchdown, DeBerg completed three passes in a row for 60 yards as the Chiefs drove 71 yards before the drive stalled and Nick Lowery kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Kansas City a 20-17 lead.

DeBerg was forced to leave the game on the play before Lowery’s field goal when he cramped up on a five-yard scramble.

“I knew that if I ran with the football I was going to cramp,” DeBerg said. “I was having a hard time just stepping away from the center. It was just something I had to deal with.”

But DeBerg returned to confound the Raiders.

In addition to his passing, DeBerg outsmarted Raider defensive linemen Howie Long and Bob Golic, drawing them offsides six times.

The Raiders were penalized four times for 20 yards during the Chiefs’ 73-yard game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, which ended with DeBerg hitting Jones with another 11-yard touchdown pass.

“I was using my cadence to try and keep them off balance,” DeBerg said. “But I was really surprised that they didn’t adjust. We were using our long snap count quite often and they were trying to guess and they were guessing wrong.

“I was just using my voice inflection. I was surprised that they didn’t start staying back and not listening to my voice, but they were playing very intense and the snap count became a big weapon for us.”

Long, who was called for encroachment four times, refused to talk to reporters after game.

But Golic, who was called for encroachment twice, said: “Obviously he was good at it (drawing the Raiders offsides) today. Marino’s good at it, Elway’s good at it. It happens.”

DeBerg’s biggest contribution, though, might have been an audible he didn’t call. Trying to run out the clock, the Chiefs faced a third and four at their own 33 with two minutes remaining.

After the Chiefs’ coaches called for a trap play out of shotgun formation, DeBerg considered changing the play because he thought it wouldn’t work. But he decided not to call an audible and running back Todd McNair burst around right end for 13 yards to seal the victory.

“I really had my doubts, big time, on how that play was going to work,” DeBerg said. “But I decided to just go with it. Todd really just made that play on his own.”

Acquiring DeBerg from Tampa Bay might be the smartest move the Chiefs have made in the past three years.

Expendable after Tampa Bay drafted Vinny Testaverde, DeBerg was traded to Kansas City. It was the third time in his career that DeBerg had lost his starting job to an extraordinary quarterback.

Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, DeBerg was beaten out by Montana. Traded to Denver, DeBerg was replaced by Elway as the Broncos’ starter.

“That’s my main goal, to try not to have the No. 1 pick in the entire NFL draft come to Kansas City and beat me out,” DeBerg joked.

As well as DeBerg is playing, it might be difficult to unseat him this time.