Bucs give McKay win in controversial finale Jim Selman The Tampa Tribune December 1984 John McKay's coaching era ended in an angry exchange of obscenities on the floor of Tampa Stadium Sunday when the Bucs resorted to three onsides kick-offs and a defensive "laydown'' in a vain effort to help James Wilder break an NFL total yardage record. The Bucs defeated the New York Jets 41-21 and closed the season with two straight wins and a 6-10 record. However, winning was not too much in doubt after the first quarter and attention of the crowd of 43,817 turned obsessively toward Wilder's attempt at the record. He rushed 31 times for 103 yards, caught nine passes for 60 and scored twice, but came up 16 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson's record for total yards. Dickerson snapped O.J. Simpson's 1975 record of 2,243 yards Saturday, finishing with 2,244. Wilder closed with 2,229, third-most in league history. Wilder needed 23 yards when the fourth quarter began and 16 after scoring his team's final touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:21 to play. Hoping to get the ball back, Obed Ariri attempted three onside kicks. Penalties nullified the first two and Russell Carter recovered the third for the Jets at the Tampa Bay 35. Four plays later, running back Johnny Hector scored from the 2 as the defense pulled one from the Florida Gator history book and didn't try to stop him. The idea was to get the ball back to the offense quickly. Florida's famed laydown play enabled John Reaves to set a college passing record in a 45-16 Gator win at Miami in 1971. The Jets were as intent to not let Wilder set the record as the Bucs were in helping him to do it and only 54 seconds remained when George Peoples recovered Pat Leahy's onsides kickoff at the 45. Wilder did handle the ball the last three plays, but had a net zero yardage. Name-calling then erupted as the players left the field. Fans jeered the Jets and someone threw a chair toward them as they filed toward their locker room. No one was injured. Among others, Jets guard-center Ted Banker, defensive tackle Barry Bennett, quarterback Pat Ryan and chief assistant coach Mike Faulkiner cursed and screamed insults at McKay. "You a--h-le,'' yelled Banker. Faulkiner approached and growled, "You a--h-le. You deserve to get out of the league.'' Bennett called him "a dog.'' Ryan yelled it was an embarrassment. In the dressing room, Head Coach Joe Walton said, "I feel bad we didn't play better. The way it ended was a total embarrassment to the NFL. It set it back 20 years. It was completely uncalled for.'' Quarterback Ken O'Brien said, "All I can say is that we play them again next year and the only problem is that McKay won't be there.'' Indeed, the schedule format will send the Bucs to the Meadowlands to play the Jets in 1985. McKay, seemingly caught in a ""damned if I do and damned if I don't situation,'' said with tongue in cheek that the language embarrassed him. He made that remark because McKay used identical language a week ago. "I know how the other coach feels,'' he said, "but believe me if I hadn't done that I would have been lynched. I'm not too popular around here anyway.'' He harked back to a 1976 game which the Bucs lost 34-0 to the Jets in New York and said, "They tried to break the record and I was on the other side of the field. They threw and threw and didn't even take the tarp off the field.'' It was an entirely different circumstance, but the 1976 Bucs also were victimised by the New England Patriots, who called a timeout with seconds to play to allow quarterback Steve Grogan to set a scoring record in a 31-14 win at Tampa Stadium. Veteran safety Mark Cotney, perplexed by the defense's contribution to Wilder late in the game, said he remembered that the New England timeout bothered the Bucs. "I think it was fairly obvious New York didn't want James Wilder to break the record,'' he said. "If I was on defense, I wouldn't want him to get a yard. We talked about it (laying down) in the huddle, but it wasn't unanimous. Consensus was, 'Hey, this is the NFL.' It was the craziest thing I have been involved with in football.'' Cotney was booed for tackling Hector at the 2 prior to the touchdown and gazed bewilderingly toward his bench. Cornerback Jeremiah Castille said, "I have never been in anything like it, but it was something the defense wanted to do as a sacrifice for James because he is a special player. I think the Jets took it as an embarrassment. I understand their point of view. I'm sure we will hear about it because we play them next year. It will be a real motivation for them.'' The hectic ending dimmed the fact that the 41 points were the most ever scored by the Bucs and it was the first time since 1977 the season ended with a win, considering playoffs. The Bucs finished with a 6-2 home record, but were 0-8 on the road. The Jets were denied a break-even season and finished 7-9. McKay's 37-year coaching career … 25 years as a head coach, including all nine years with the Bucs … ended on a sour note despite the win. His Buc record goes into the books as 44-88-1, not including playoffs. Overall, he is 45-91-1. The Bucs outgained the Jets 343 yards to 252 and quarterback Steve DeBerg completed 26 of 34 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns to tight ends. Jerry Bell, starting in place of one-time Pro Bowler Jimmie Giles, caught two of them, 3 and 18 yards, and rookie Jay Carroll had the other, 4 yards, his first in pro ball. Wilder scored from the 6 in the first quarter, then from the 4 in the fourth. Ariri, who broke the team scoring record with 84 points a week earlier, hit 37- and 35-yard field goals for his 18th and 19th to break Bill Capece's 1982 record of 18 in a season. DeBerg set a team season record for passing efficiency with a 79.3 rating, surpassing Doug Williams' mark of 76.5 in 1981. DeBerg was sacked five times, however, but the Buc defense menaced O'Brien repeatedly, sacking him six times and picking off two passes. Sixth-time Pro Bowler Lee Roy Selmon had two of those sacks and end John Cannon and linebacker Hugh Green had two apiece. Castille and Cotney had the interceptions. For Cotney, it was his fifth in eight games. Defensive end Mark Gastineau had two of the Jets' sacks, his 21st and 22nd, for a team record. The Cotney interception and a fumble recovery by Castille on the first two Jets' possessions set up 10 Buc points. In addition to Hector's touchdown, Tony Paige scored from the 3 and O'Brien passes 5 yards to tight end Glenn Dennison for the other New York touchdowns. Wilder's failure to break the record was taken especially hard by Buc guard Sean Farrell, who drew two penalties, nullifying 18 yards in gains by Wilder. "It really bothers me,'' Farrell said. "He worked so hard and I felt he deserved it.'' Farrell's blocking, of course, helped account for much of Wilder's season's production. Wilder, around whom all the furore centered, didn't seem to be disappointed. "No,'' he said. "I accomplished what I set out to do this year.'' He still might have made the mark had DeBerg not had to adjust and throw to secondary receiver Adger Armstrong on an 18-yard gain just prior to Wilder's second touchdown. As luck would have it, Wilder said he was tackled on the play and knocked down a second time.