Raiders Throw Away Lead in 24-21 Defeat by Chiefs : NFL: Fourth-quarter interception helps rally Kansas City from 21-10 deficit. Go-ahead touchdown comes with 47 seconds remaining.

The four-leaf clover Ronnie Lott had stashed in his hip pocket the last two weeks was stolen Monday night--first by a man named Holohan, no less--allowing the Kansas City Chiefs to steal a 24-21 victory over the Raiders before 77,111 at Arrowhead Stadium.

Lott, who led the Raiders to recent miracle-finish victories over Seattle and the Rams, was this time a last-minute victim, allowing a six-yard scoring pass from Chief quarterback Steve DeBerg to Tim Barnett with 47 seconds left to give Kansas City an improbable comeback victory.

There was confusion in the Raiders’ secondary on the game-winning pass, as Barnett slipped past cornerback Lionel Washington and was left wide open in the back of the end zone.

Lott, though, was playing up close to the line of scrimmage.

“I’m supposed to have him man-to-man when he releases inside,” Lott said afterward.

The Raiders, though, had no reason to be in such a perilous position. They owned a 21-10 lead entering the fourth quarter and were driving to put the game away when quarterback Jay Schroeder’s pass, apparently intended for Tim Brown, was intercepted by safety Lloyd Burruss and returned 83 yards to the Raider 15 with 11:05 left.

The Chiefs cashed that first gift when Christian Okoye scored on a one-yard run with 8:07 left, cutting the Raiders’ lead to 21-17.

The Raiders couldn’t sustain their ensuing drive and punted the ball back to the Chiefs at their own 43 with 4:32 left.

On first down, DeBerg threw a pass deep over the middle. Lott cut in front of the ball and seemed poised to make the interception and put the game to rest.

But this time, the ball not only bounced from Lott’s hands, it floated into the waiting arms of former Ram tight end Pete Holohan, who clutched the prize for an 18-yard gain at the Raider 39.

The Chiefs moved slowing in for the kill from there, picking away at the Raiders’ defense and the clock.

Before the winning score, the Chiefs converted a crucial fourth-and-four play when DeBerg passed five yards to Todd McNair for the first down.

The next play was the game-winner. Washington chucked Barnett at the line of scrimmage but let him loose. Lott, presumably, would continue the coverage.

Afterward, Lott, who had basked in victory the last two weeks, took this loss upon himself, as if no other plays could have changed the course of the game.

“I didn’t make two plays,” Lott said. “The last touchdown was my man. The interception should have been an interception. Those were mental errors. I didn’t come through in crunch time. I didn’t keep my poise.”

Lott might have appeared the goat, but others could line up. Schroeder, brilliant at times, had three passes intercepted.

His first, in the first quarter, was returned 43 yards by cornerback Jayice Pearson and set up the Chiefs’ first touchdown.

Worse yet, the Raiders not only lost a game, they lost rookie Nick Bell, who suffered cracked ribs on a first-quarter touchdown run and will be lost indefinitely.

How strange was this game? Well, how many 11-0 leads do you see in the NFL? It took all of three minutes for the weirdness to unfold, as Raider defensive end Greg Townsend tipped a DeBerg pass to himself and raced 31 yards with the interception to the Chiefs’ one. Townsend thought he broke the end-zone plane and scored--so did the field officials--but the play was overruled by instant replay.

It was a big reversal because Kansas City’s defense stuffed the Raiders on three downs. They had to settle for Jeff Jaeger’s 18-yard field goal from there.

Townsend thought he scored on the play: “I thought I broke the plane,” he said. “We were dealt a crazy game.”

Disaster struck quarterback DeBerg again on the next series, when linebacker Aaron Wallace forced a fumble that bounced toward the end zone.

Townsend again was the man on the spot and all he had to do was fall on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Instead, the ball bounced from his grasp and was recovered by Barnett for a safety.

By the slim margin of a few inches and Townsend’s fumbling fingers, the Raiders led 5-0 instead of 14-0.

The Raiders should have rejoiced their possession after the safety, but the end--a one-yard scoring run by Bell--did not justify the means.

The score was set up on a 59-yard pass and run from Schroeder to Mervyn Fernandez, who took a short toss and turned it up field to the Chiefs’ one.

Bell plowed the left side for a touchdown on first down but was injured. To boot, Jaeger’s extra point was blocked by Bill Maas.

The Raiders led, 11-0, but the feeling was not comfortable.

To wit: Later in the first quarter, Schroeder’s pass intended for Willie Gault was intercepted by Pearson and returned 43 yards to the Raiders’ 45. Eight plays later, DeBerg found fullback Bill Jones for an eight-yard scoring pass with 11:03 left in the half, cutting the lead to 11-7.

The Raiders came right back, though, driving 77 yards in eight plays to open and 11-point lead when Schroeder, on play-action, threw a 37-yard scoring pass to fullback Steve Smith, who was wide open down the middle after sneaking through the line of scrimmage. Smith’s score with 6:43 left in the half put the Raiders up by an odd score, 18-7. It was an odd half.

It was an odd game.

Raider Notes

Receiver Mervyn Fernandez recored the 12th 100-yard receiving game of his career, finishing with three catches for 107 yards. . . . Jeff Jaeger missed his first extra-point attempt of the season. . . . Quarterback Jay Schroeder completed 12 of 26 passes for 250 yards.

ANALYSIS: The Raiders could have put the game away early, but blown opportunities cost them a victory. C5