Raiders Overcome Their Chief Problem : Pro football: After six consecutive losses to Kansas City, they take charge from the start and score a 28-7 victory.

Enough already.

The Raiders had had enough of losing the ball on turnovers, of losing games in crucial situations and of losing ground in the AFC West.

But most of all, they had had enough of losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sunday, the losing stopped.

Sunday, the Raiders vented the frustration of a long, losing season on the Chiefs right from the opening kickoff and won, 28-7, before 45,227 at the Coliseum.

That leaves the Raiders, given up for dead a week ago in San Diego, still alive in the suddenly tightened AFC West at 6-7.

The Raiders trail the Denver Broncos (7-6) by a game and the Chiefs and San Diego Chargers (both 8-5) by two with three to play.

Is the door still open to at least a wild-card spot for the Raiders?

“We’re trying to shove our shoe in,” quarterback Jay Schroeder said. “That’s about allwe have left.”

It seemed as if the Raiders had nothing left a week ago when they were totally dominated by the Chargers, who beat them, 27-3.

But anybody who can figure out this Raider team might be smart enough to figure out the deficit crisis next.

In the Chiefs, the Raiders were facing a team they hadn’t beaten in three years, a team that had beaten them six times in a row and had totally dominated them in an earlier meeting this season.

But the Raiders decided to end the intimidation factor early. Real early.

On the Chiefs’ first series from scrimmage, Tim Barnett, attempting to catch a pass from quarterback Dave Krieg, took a teeth-rattling hit from Ronnie Lott, separating Barnett from the ball.

“That was important,” said Raider defensive back Dan Land, who would later show some aggression of his own with his first NFL interception to kill a crucial Kansas City drive. “We showed them that we were going to be physical on them. We had them looking over their shoulders at us.”

Schroeder sent the same message from the offense.

On the Raiders’ first play from scrimmage, from their 43-yard line, Schroeder went for it all, throwing a bomb down the middle to receiver Willie Gault.

Gault dived for the ball in front of the goal line, rolled over into the end zone and came up with the ball.

No catch, ruled the officials.

No way, said Gault.

“My head hit the ground and I came up dizzy,” Gault said. “But I felt I caught the ball. There was some air between me and the ball, but I caught it again. It never hit the ground.”

On another afternoon, such a lost opportunity might have snatched the spirit from the Raiders.

But this was not another afternoon. This time, they shook off their disappointment, drove down the field and scored, Schroeder hitting Ethan Horton on a six-yard touchdown pass.

With the offense and defense both operating at a high emotional level, it was the special teams’ turn to step up.

And step up they did in the form of Elvis Patterson, who stepped in front of Kansas City punter Bryan Barker to block his kick on the Chiefs’ next possession, and then recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

Raiders 14, Chiefs 0.

The Raiders reaped three huge benefits from Patterson’s play:

--It gave them a lead to play with.

--It knocked Barker out of the game. His collision with Patterson left the Chiefs’ punter with a partially dislocated left shoulder. Barker’s backup, kicker Nick Lowery, punted the rest of the afternoon, averaging 35.3 yards to leave the Raiders in good field position on several occasions.

--It forced the Chiefs to abandon their running game and play catch-up through the air.

With disastrous results.

The Chiefs rushed only 14 times for 17 total yards, a mere 1.2 yards per carry. Barry Word, who came into the game with a team-leading 599 yards rushing, had only four yards gained to show for four carries Sunday.

Krieg completed 18 of 33 for 276 yards and Kansas City’s only touchdown, hitting Keith Cash on a two-yard touchdown pass. But Krieg was sacked four times.

Krieg also threw one interception and it proved to be crucial.

With the Raiders ahead, 21-7, heading into the third quarter, Krieg came out throwing, hitting Todd McNair on consecutive passes for 33 and 20 yards, giving the Chiefs a first and goal at the Raider six.

A touchdown there would have put the Chiefs back in the game.

Krieg faded back, spotted J.J. Birden in the end zone, and fired the ball.

But Krieg didn’t spot Land in time. The Raider back cut across from the right side and grabbed the ball to reverse the Chiefs’ sudden surge of momentum.

“We were in a zone and I had a chance to look at the quarterback,” Land said. “Once he threw, I came over and it came right to me like a Christmas gift.”

Schroeder finished with a dozen completions in 18 attempts for 93 yards. But he got the most out of those yards, connecting on three touchdown passes. The scoring play to Horton was followed by an 11-yarder to Steve Smith and a 17-yarder to Gault.

Lineman Anthony Smith, meanwhile, had two more sacks, giving him 13 and putting him among the league leaders.

Not bad for a part-time player.

“I don’t control my playing time,” Smith said. “All I control is my production once I’m in there.”

So, now it’s on to Miami for a game Monday night.

Which Raider club will show up for that one?

With this team, who knows?

Raider Note

Linebacker Riki Ellison, suffering from a leg injury, failed to play for the first time this season.