Raiders Get Cherry-Picked : AFC: Chiefs intercept four passes by Marinovich, and final drive self-destructs as season ends with fourth consecutive loss, 10-6.

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.

Schottenheimer said he decided to attempt the field goal instead of going for the touchdown on fourth down because he had gambled and lost in a similar situation Friday while playing a video football game against his son, Brian.

And you thought coaches had game plans.

“I thought that it was important that they had to make a touchdown to beat us,” Schottenheimer reasoned.

His reasoning, it turned out, was sound. The Raiders’ ensuing drive ended when Eric Everett intercepted Marinovich for the third time with 5:49 left.

But a nine-yard sack of DeBerg by Scott Davis forced a Kansas City punt.

The Raiders took over at their 40 with 4:31 left.

It was clear that Shell was going to live or die with Marinovich.

“I’m not going to second-guess myself on the decision,” Shell said later.

Marinovich showed some playoff poise when he looped a 28-yard pass to Ethan Horton over the middle. He then swung a nine-yard pass to Steve Smith. The Raiders were in business at the Chiefs’ 24.

Then, disaster struck. On second down at the 24, right tackle Steve Wright was called for a facemask penalty, pushing the ball back 15 yards to the 39. On the next play Wright was called for a false start.

“Please get away from me,” Wright said when reporters approached him afterward.

The Raiders got a break there when the Chiefs were called for defensive holding. But a first and 10 at the 39 became first and 20 at the 49 when Horton was called for holding. It became first and 30 at the 41 when Tim Brown was called for offensive pass interference.

From there, a pass by Marinovich deflected off Horton’s hands into the waiting arms of Marts, putting to rest a final threat and the finishing touches on the unmaking of Marinovich.

For the game, he completed 12 of 23 passes for 140 yards.

Six days earlier, Marinovich had taken the Chiefs for 243 yards and three touchdowns.

Little did he know.

“Everybody was talking about how he shredded us up,” Kansas City cornerback Kevin Ross said. “It wasn’t fair to him or us. He came in and did a good job, but you can’t judge a man on one game.”

It was not in the Raider plans to finish the season with four losses and a quarterback controversy.

But that’s what they finished with.

Raider Notes

Derrick Thomas, the Chiefs’ All-Pro linebacker, was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital after he experienced a rapid heartbeat during the first half of Saturday’s game. A Chiefs’ spokesman said Thomas’ heartbeat had returned to normal before he left Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs said that Thomas, who was fighting a cold, may have take too many antihistamines. Thomas was expected to spend a night in the hospital for observation. . . . Before leaving, Thomas recorded an eight-yard sack on which he forced a fumble..

Chief flanker Tim Barnett blamed his hip injury on Ronnie Lott. “Cheap shot. Strictly a cheap shot. Ronnie’s a great player, but sometimes he hits you after the play. You know? He gave me a cheap shot and gave me a hip-pointer. But you just tell Ronnie I’ll be back next week and make sure you tell him he won’t.”

Roger Craig did not play a down in the Raiders’ last two games. He said afterward that it was a “coaches decision.”

Bryan Barker went almost seven quarters without a punt against the Raiders before kicking his first with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter. . . . The Chiefs have defeated the Raiders five consecutive games, six in a row with Steve DeBerg at quarterback. Saturday, DeBerg completed nine of 14 passes for 89 yards.

* HOMEWORK: This time, the Chiefs were ready for rookie quarterback Todd Marinovich. C10