No Reason To Talk About What Might Have Been Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune, published 29 October 2007 Less than a minute remained in the game against Jacksonville, and the Bucs trailed by a point. Jeff Garcia liked the coverage presented by the Jaguars and decided the third-down pass would not be something safe to keep the chains moving. It was time to go for it. A moment later, receiver Ike Hilliard broke free and sprinted toward the end zone A gasp rose from the stands at Raymond James Stadium as everyone seemed to simultaneously realize the miracle finish that was about to occur. Hilliard was so open. In an instant, a season passed before our eyes. It would be a 55-yard touchdown pass. It would win the game. Complete the pass and start the party. It would be a play to tell your grandkids about. The Bucs would have their fifth win. A signature win. They would be in first place in the division halfway through the season. They would ... They didn't. The ball sailed long, well out of Hilliard's reach. Just as it had on a pass earlier in the quarter that would have been - but wasn't - a 62-yard TD to Joey Galloway. Shortly afterward, as the Bucs trudged off the field after losing 24-23, the vision of what might have been had been replaced by thoughts far more dire. You get what you deserve in the NFL, so we won't say the Bucs should be 6-2. They are 4-4 on merit, even though everyone knows the past two losses - Sunday's, and the one last week to Detroit - could have gone the other way. But they didn't. Teams good enough to be 6-2 win those games. Everyone else talks about what might have been. Garcia, so safe with the football throughout the early season, has been party to five turnovers the past two weeks. He had his first three interceptions of this season Sunday. The first one turned into a 28-yard touchdown return by Jacksonville cornerback Aaron Glenn, who jumped on an out pass to Joey Galloway. Jacksonville's relentless defensive pressure had a lot to do with the problems, but let's be clear about something. There can be no excuse for losing this one. 'At some point, we needed to grasp that game and run away with it,' running back Earnest Graham said. 'In the NFL you have to be able to do that.' The Jaguars were basically half a team, playing a backup quarterback, Quinn Gray. He threw only 16 passes all day, but when the Jags had to have him, he led his team from behind on the road in the fourth quarter with what proved to be a game-winning scoring pass with 3:28 to play. A playoff-caliber team, which the Bucs say they are, has to win on a day like this. 'It was a very important game. It could have put us at 5-3 and really helped us out, but it's a missed opportunity for us,' defensive lineman Kevin Carter said. 'This time right now - this time in our season, midway point - Weeks 6 through 10 is when people really define who they are, who they're going to be for the season. 'Basically, they either go out there and show they're playoff contenders or they don't. That's where we are right now. That's what we're looking at. We've got to go out there and decide who we're going to be. We have to decide if we're going to win or be a team that has a bunch of near misses.' Well, that's really it. You can package this one any way you want. You can say it's just one game. You can say Jacksonville is really good. You can take solace that the Bucs play in a mediocre division. You can do all those things, but it still comes down to exactly what Kevin Carter said. Garcia went back to Hilliard on the next play after the overthrow. The ball hit Hilliard in the hands and would have been a first down. But it wasn't. He was hit hard as the ball arrived, and it popped loose. Instead of a first down, Garcia had his third interception. 'We lost the game because I didn't make the play. It's nobody's fault but mine,' Hilliard said. 'I get paid to make those plays. It's part of the reason why they brought me here. Everybody did what they were supposed to do but me.' Hilliard is being a total pro by saying that, but he protests too much. 'That's the type of guy Ike is,' Graham said. 'We had tons of opportunities to win that game. It's not his fault.' The idea isn't to find fault. But it's also a truth that an NFL season can swing on a handful of plays. Missing an open receiver for a touchdown with the game on the line is one of those plays. And having that same receiver turn a drive-saving first down into a game-ending interception a play later is another. 'I think, oftentimes you want to make that perfect throw, you want to hit them in stride so they have a chance to get in the end zone,' Garcia said. 'Just a yard off on both those long throws and both of them, I think, score.' Just a yard off. Just a little long. You think of what might have been. Then you remember what actually happened. You think what it would be like to be 6-2. Then you wake up to 4-4.