Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 25

0X0 Times-Advocate Interception, running game help break four-game skid 8m Dtogo 29, KamMCtty 13 GfMn Bay 40, Chicago 28 Cincinnati 61, Houston 7 Indianapolis 42, Miami 13 Cleveland 23, Minnesota 1 7. OT Pittsburgh 28, Hew England 10 Detroit 33, Tampa Bay 7 Washington 31. Atlanta 30 LA Rams 38. New York Jetal A San Francisco 21, Buffalo 10 Seattle 23. LA Raiders 1 7 ByKevin Scattareggia Times Advocate Sportswruer KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Finally, the Chargers got it right. After repeated late-game failures, on both offense and defense, the Chargers made all the necessary plays Sunday to claim a victory- The Chargers sealed their 20-13 win over Kansas City when defensive back Roy Bennett intercepted quarterback Steve DeBergs pass for Emile Harry in the end zone with 19 seconds left in the game. It was the kind of big play theyve rarely made this season. I dont do a lot of breath holding," said Chargers Coach Dan Henning. But that whole series was a situation that I dont necessarily like to get our defense in.

Henning can be excused if he watched the Chiefs final series with his hands over his eyes. After all, hes seen his defense blow three games this season by allowing touchdowns with less than two minutes to play. Perhaps after so many close losses nine of their 10 defeats have been by a total of 39 points the Chargers are finally getting the hang of it. Its a little bit like getting the monkey off your back, said Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Lynn. Weve been in these positions and its meant ballgames for us.

Its nic to be in that same position again." Said Chargers strong safety Martin Bayless: If we could have been able to close the door like we did today, we'd be sitting pretty Butts gets invincible against the Chiefs By Kevin Scattareggia Times Advocate Sportswnter KANSAS CITY, Mo. Marion Butts may not make people forget Kansas Citys Christian Okoye, but for three hours Sunday, the Charger rookie showed he can more than hold his weight against the Nigerian Nightmare." Okoye, the NFLs leading rusher, was thoroughly outplayed by Butts, who gained a career-high 176 yards. Butts also broke the Chargers team record for carries with 39. Butts was just six short of the league record of 45 rushes set by Washington's Jamie Morris last season in an overtime game one year ago Sunday. We knew it was a battle of the 35s, said Charger free safety Ven-cie Glenn refering to the uniform number of both players.

Ill take our 35 every day. Okoyes a great back, definitely a great back. But Buttsy played a hell of a game." The Chargers used their 6-foot-1, 248-pound rookie to control the ball and eat up chunks of yardage. Butts easily passed both tests. Buttsy ran like a man possessed," said Charger guard David Richards.

He got a lot of his yardage on his own. Said Kansas City defensive end Neil Smith: Hes a tough back. Hes a lot like Christian Okoye. On this particular Sunday, Butts was better. Okoye, who entered the game with 1,322 yards and 11 touchdowns, gained just 60 yards on 18 carries.

Other than a 12-yard gain, Okoye was not much of a factor. He did have a 12-yard touchdown run, but it was called back because of a holding call. They did stop our run, said the 6-1, 253-pound Okoye. But the Chiefs couldnt stop Butts, who has been quite a surprise this season. Drafted in the seventh round out of Florida State, Butts forte in college was special-teams play.

In two years at Florida State, Butts carried only 64 times, gaining 332 yards with four touchdowns. Butts was used primarily as a blocking back. Thats something I dont understand, he said. I tried, I practiced very hard. I prepared myself.

But once game time came, I thought as if I was on the short end of the stick Im glad Im getting a chance to perform and show my ability, and to really express myself on the field the way I do. Butts play is the one thing that helps keep his mind off more important matters, namely the death of his mother. The rookie has been grieving since Mary Butts died of cancer 10 days ago. You have to block it out of your DeBerg wishes he had gone shopping 4 i good right now. Instead, the Chargers merely broke a four-game losing streak to raise their record to 5-10.

However, the Chargers win crippled Kansas Citys playoff hopes. The Chiefs (7-7-1) needed wins in their final two games and a loss by either Cleveland or the Los Angeles Raiders to qualify as a wild-card team. While Sundays defeat before 40,623 doesnt mathematically eliminate them, the Chiefs must win at Miami next week and get help from a lot of other teams. I just feel like were a better football team, said DeBerg. Its hard to figure out.

This was a much more important game for us than it was for San Diego. We just got outplayed today. Actually, the Chargers beat Kansas City at its own game combining a strong running attack and a staunch defense. The Chiefs came in with the leagues No. 2-rated defense.

How- Please see Chargers, page D2 came untouched on a blitz. Glenns hit kept DeBerg on the artificial turf for several minutes and opened up a cut under his chin that required 13 stitches. Lets see if he can find a hit like that in the stores, Glenn said. I think it got him pocket-wary. I think he started looking for people in there and started getting happy feet." Said Charger rookie defensive end Burt Grossman: When you get a hit like that and go down, it sticks in your mind and youre always looking for it again.

After that hit, he was looking for it all day. As far as Deberg was concerned, the issue was a non-issue. It was meant as a joke, he said about his comment to San Diego reporters. I wasnt meant as anything, to be honest. If I had an extra day off, I'd Christmas shop.

After the way DeBerg played, he and the rest of the Chiefs should Please see DeBerg, page D2 playoffs first time in four seasons, theyll need a in over the Giants and several more friendly outcomes among their AFC brethren. It could have been so much easier with a win. And to think they came so close. How close? As close as Steve Beuerleins fourth-and-11 pass to wide receiver Mervyn Fernandez when the Raiders were at the Seattle 15-yard line with a minute and a half to play. Fernandez was open on a hook route but Beuerlein delivered too high.

As close as Beuerleins second- Please see Raiders, page D2 with a great chance to take the lead. Why? The Bills were playing in San Francisco. Of course, Miami gets blown out in Indy, 42-13. Buffalo lost, too. And somehow the Chiefs, the hottest team in the NFL, lose for the second time this year to San Diego, which has found time to win only three other games this season.

You want sanity, look at the NFC. The 49ers and Giants are in. Three spots remain and four teams are alive: the Eagles, Rams, Vikings and Packers. And heres the good news: The whole mess may not be settled until the final-regu- Please see Playoffs, page D3 I guess the real strength between Butts and Okoye is that once they get rolling, people dont want to get up and tackle them, said Henning. So they get extra yardage tacked on because of momentum.

Even Butts teammates are impressed. It was a good day for Butts, said Charger rookie defensive end Burt Grossman. What did he have, 98 carries? Butts makes like 80 grand a year. I think Butts is cheaper by the yard than wallpaper. Id like to be Butts agent.

With the exception of Sanders, hes probably the best rookie running back. from Sundays showing, hes doing a pretty good job of handling the matters at hand. I'm really learning the system, said Butts, who has 667 yards on 154 carries and nine touchdowns. You really have to learn the system before you can be dominant. Said Chargers Coach Dan Henning: It appears that Butts is a first-down heavy-load type of back.

Among NFL rookies, only Barry Sanders of Detroit, Denvers Bobby Humphrey and Tim Worley of Pittsburgh have outgained Butts. However, Sanders and Humphrey each have at least 260 carries. Worley has 21 more carries, but only 57 more yards (724). Buttsy ran like a man possessed. He got a lot of his yardage on his own.

David Richards mind, Butts said. You can't really let tragedy affect your job. You deal with it in your spare time because if you deal with it while youre performing, youre not going to perform great. I just put it in the back of my mind, he added. Whenever I have time by myself I can really go and work with it.

But for now, Butts is trying to concentrate on football. Judging By Kevin Scattareggia Times Advocate Sportswnter KANSAS CITY, Mo. In keeping with the holiday spirit, the Chargers saw to it Sunday that Kansas City quarterback Steve DeBerg will have plenty of time to shop for gifts. DeBergs comment last week about the Chargers taking an extra day off so they could Christmas shop may have come back to haunt him Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Apparently the comment did not sit well with the Chargers defense.

Some players even suggested that DeBergs statement motivated them. We got after him early and I think once that happened he started thinking about Christmas shopping, said Charger linebacker Gary Plummer. Hell have enough time to go out and shop for some of us if he'd like. Free safety Yencie Glenn paid his respects to DeBerg in the first quarter with a vicious hit when he another game at the Kingdome. The Raiders dropped a 23-17 decision before 61,076 screaming meemies and were left to survey the devastating erosion of their playoff hopes.

No longer in ontrol of their destiny or much of anything else, the Raiders now venture to the Mead-owlands with an 8-7 record. With that mark theyve got company with no less than five teams in the AFC: Buffalo, Miami, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. This doesnt even take into account the battle between Houston (9-6) and Cleveland (8-6-1) for the Central title. To get to the playofts for the Raiders fail to clinch Becker at his best is too much for Sweden STUTTGART, West Germany (AP) Once again, Boris Becker was at his best in Davis Cup competition. Showing nerves of steel, the West German blitzed Stefan Ed-berg and Mats Wilander in singles and starred in the doubles as the defending champions retained the Davis Cup with a 3-2 win over Sweden.

The Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion played perfect tennis in a 6-2, 6-0, 6-2 win over Wilander Sunday that clinched West Germanys triumph in the best-of-five match series. I dont think there could be more pressure than it has been in the last three days, Becker said. He said the pressure started when he was practicing during a weeklong training camp, but once the competition began, I put myself out of everything and just kept concentrating on each match, Becker said. Thats how I could put it away.

Im still in a state of shock, Becker said, shaking his head. It was my best match ever. I was playing for almost two hours and I could not miss the ball. Boris Becker wrapped up the Davis Cup for West Germany. By Eric Noland Los Angeles Daily News SEATTLE Their sea of wildcard competitors graciously parted during the afternoon, and just before to the Raiders game with the Seattle Seahawks Sunday night, official word came down from the NFL office: With a win over the Seahawks, the Raiders were in the playoffs, regardless of what happened in their regular-season finale on the New York Giants home tundra.

Such generous fortune. Such high hope. Such a crushing emptiness when they failed to seize yet another playoff opportunity on yet another cold December night in yet Only Giants By Gary Myers New York Daily News Hey, does anybody really want to make the AFC playoffs? And are the NFC playoffs going to be merely an exercise to see who loses to the 49ers? You hear so much talk this time of the year about how our destiny is in our hands. Well, nice hands they have in Houston, Miami, Kansa City, Buffalo. And dont forget the Raiders, who blew a chance to clinch their first playoff spot since 1985 when they lost in Seattle on Sunday night.

In fact, the Giants were the only team to clinch a playoff spot this weekend, and only three of the 10 gained playoff security The Associated Press Becker said he loves playing Davis Cup. Its more fun to play on a team, when youre together for 10 days, he said. In a Grand Slam, the thrill of the whole thing is also very high. Becker was awesome in his singles against Wilander, a three-time Grand Slam winner last year and ranked No. 1 at the end of 1989 but now No.

12, and Edberg. Becker simply made smorgasbord of his Swedish opponents, losing only 12 games in six sets Please see Tennis, page D2 The score was 2-1 for Germany so it was a very important match. Its difficult for me to believe that I played like that. A year ago, Becker led West Germany to a 4-1 win over Sweden on indoor clay at Goteborg, Sweden, one of the biggest upsets in the 88-year history of the Davis Cup. Last year was a dream, because nobody expected us at all to win, Becker said.

This year the chances were 50-50. I knew that if Im going to do the best I can, then we can win it. The feeling now is much stronger for me personally than last year. spaces are taken. The Oilers had a chance to wrap up their first division title since the AFL days and instead get wiped out in Cincinnati, 61-7.

And how about Sam Wyche calling an on-sides kick with the score 45-0? Dont laugh. He did it to say howdy to Jerry Glanville but those points may come in handy: Six wild-card contenders can finish 9-7 and net points could open the door for Cin-cy- Ironically, Wyche ripped Clevelands fans last week, but the victory over the Oilers kept the Browns alive in the AFC Central race. The Dolphins went into the day tied with Buffalo in the AFC East I I.