Bucs look for Vincent Jackson at crunch time The Tampa Tribune, published 30 September 2014 Vincent Jackson had caught only two out of nine balls thrown his way, and the Bucs had gone 0-for-7 passing in the red zone in the fourth quarter when they lined up for third-and-goal at the 5-yard line with 0:12 left, trailing the Steelers by four points. Jackson drew single coverage from Steelers cornerback William Gay — only starting because Ike Taylor broke his arm last week — and reached high to pull in a quick pass from Mike Glennon for the touchdown and a 27-24 win against Pittsburgh. "It's just a great day," Jackson said after the game. "Hats off to our defense and special teams for getting us the ball back in great field position. They gave us a chance to win. We finished." The Bucs had four shots from inside the red zone minutes earlier and fired incomplete four times, including two passes to Jackson. Another pass had missed one play before the touchdown, but Jackson came through with the game-winning catch. "That's their go-to receiver. During crunch time like that, you know they are going to 83," Gay said. "I expected them to go to 83. He won. I didn't." Jackson has had late-game heroics before, only to see the Bucs fall short. In 2012, he caught a touchdown pass from Josh Freeman with 0:12 left, then a two-point conversion to tie the game against Carolina, only to lose in overtime. Return of the Captain Even playing with virtually one hand, Pro Bowl DT Gerald McCoy had a dramatic effect on the Bucs defense as he returned from a one-game absence. McCoy didn’t play in the 56-14 setback at Atlanta because of a fractured left hand suffered against the Rams in Week 2. He virtually went the distance against the Steelers, finishing with a sack, a tackle for loss, a QB hit and two tackles. More importantly, his presence sparked a surge up front that the Bucs hadn’t shown all season. “Gerald’s one of the best players in this league and to see him out there today was inspiring,’’ said DE Michael Johnson, who responded with two of Tampa Bay’s five sacks. “Seeing Gerald work like that makes you want to play even harder.’’ It was Johnson’s sack and strip of Ben Roethlisberger on the game’s third snap that set up an early TD for the Bucs. On the previous play, McCoy dropped Roethlisberger for a 6-yard loss. All week long, McCoy had a a feeling about Johnson, who has been hobbled by an ankle injury. “We were watching tape of the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game from last year and Mike was just flying off the ball,’’ said McCoy. “He was all in Ben’s face the whole game and I said, “Hey Mike, is this guy coming to the game?’ He said, ‘I’ll make sure he’s there.’ ”