NOTES : Zendejas Boots Away Perfect Mark
Tony Zendejas’ reign as the NFL’s only perfect kicker this season came to an untimely end Sunday afternoon, but he offered no excuses after the Rams’ 27-20 loss to Kansas City.
Zendejas, signed by the Rams this season after becoming a Plan B free agent with the Houston Oilers, missed an extra-point kick that would have given the Rams a 21-20 lead with 3 minutes 59 seconds left.
“I just didn’t follow through as well as I normally do,” Zendejas said of the kick, which hit the right upright and fell back into the end zone. “I just missed it.”
Zendejas has converted all 10 of his field-goal attempts and is 19 of 20 on extra-point attempts.
Cherry Bomb: Kansas City’s Derrick Thomas may have been involved in Sunday’s two biggest plays--a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a sack/forced fumble and fumble recovery when the Rams were driving for a game-tying touchdown--but he wasn’t the only game-breaker for the Chiefs.
Deron Cherry, who came into the NFL as a free-agent punter and has been to six Pro Bowls in his 11 years as a free safety, had eight solo tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and two big hits on crucial plays.
He intercepted Jim Everett’s third pass of the game in the first quarter, setting up the Chiefs’ first touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he tackled Robert Delpino after a seven-yard gain on third down and then stopped Marcus Dupree from picking up the first down on fourth and one from the Kansas City 33.
And he knocked the ball from Delpino, after which Thomas recovered and went 23 yards for a touchdown.
“I think that was the biggest play for us all year,” Cherry said. “They were moving the ball and we couldn’t stop them. We needed that.
“Everett was hot all day long. He was escaping the rush, finding his receivers and throwing the ball on the money.”
Coach Marty Schottenheimer was more impressed with Cherry’s back-to-back tackles than the forced fumble.
“The hit on Delpino on the play before fourth down was the big hit,” he said. “Deron’s provided some real leadership for us. And he’s playing better now than he ever has since we’ve been here.”
Go Figure: For a guy who had a career-type day, Ram receiver Henry Ellard sure left Anaheim Stadium in a foul mood.
Ellard caught eight passes for 160 yards, including a 14-yarder for a touchdown from Jim Everett with 34 seconds left in the first half.
So what did you think about the game, Henry?
“I don’t have anything to say to anyone,” he said as he headed for the locker room door.
Quotebook: Although he caught touchdown passes of one and 17 yards, Ram tight end Damone Johnson wasn’t feeling very fortunate after the game.
“We’ve had no luck at all,” Johnson said. “But I don’t think we need to do anything to get better. It just can’t get any worse.”
The Rams over the weekend signed defensive tackle Mike Charles, who had not played a down this season, and just like that, because of a series of injuries along the defensive line, he went straight into action Sunday against the Chiefs.
Charles, a nine-year NFL veteran, was signed when the Rams decided to place defensive tackle Mike Piel on injured reserve because of his sore left shoulder.
Then after Karl Wilson left the game with an injured right knee in the first quarter, Charles was put into action. He put pressure on quarterback Steve DeBerg and made three solo tackles.
“We had a hellacious number of problems in the defensive line,” Coach John Robinson said. “We lost Bill Hawkins (sore back) during the week, we had to put Mike Piel on injured reserve, we lost Karl Wilson at the start of the game.
“Mike Charles came in and he did a pretty good job.”
Tailback Marcus Dupree carried the ball five times for 24 yards and caught the first pass of his NFL career Sunday.
Two weeks ago, Dupree carried six times in the Rams’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but all of his carries Sunday were during crunch time.
He did not disappoint, usually taking the ball straight into defenders for positive yardage. But he was stopped when the Chiefs forced him wide on a crucial fourth-and-one try in the final quarter.
“I thought Marcus Dupree did a good job when he played,” Robinson said. “He clearly gives evidence he can be a successful player for us.”
Said Everett of the 240-pound Dupree: “He’s our version of (bruising Chief tailback Christian) Okoye, I guess. A pounder, a muscle guy. I talked with a few of their (defensive backs) after the game, and they were impressed with his ability to get up the field.”
Notes
The victory was the Chiefs’ first in four meetings with the Rams. The Rams beat the Chiefs, 23-13 in 1973, 20-14 in 1982 and 16-0 in 1985. . . . The Chiefs’ victory leaves the Seattle Seahawks as the only team that hasn’t defeated the Rams in regular-season play. The Rams are 4-0 against the Seahawks. The teams play Dec. 22. . . . Tight end Pete Holohan, signed by the Chiefs after being left unprotected by the Rams in the off-season, caught one pass for 26 yards. . . . Kickoff returner Ron Brown suffered a bruised foot in the first quarter and did not return.
Times staff writers Tim Kawakami, Mike Reilley and John Weyler contributed to this story.