Jamel Dean's pick-6 vs. Jets helps Bucs shake turnover drought With less than a minute left in the second quarter, the Jets - trailing by only six largely because the Bucs had stunted themselves with 10 first-half penalties that cost them 89 yards - were looking for more. They were thinking points. Jamel Dean knew this. When he saw quarterback Tyrod Taylor look toward his top target, he took notice. "Once he looked over to Garrett Wilson, I was like, ‘Yeah, let me be a little more patient,' " Dean said after Sunday's 29-27 victory. "And once he threw it I was like, ‘Oh my god, he did it.' " What the 36-year-old Taylor had just done was get overly ambitious. The Jets weren't going to kneel the rest of the half away with nearly a minute remaining, but they needed to avoid a backbreaking mistake. Dean saw the opportunity to deliver that gut punch and executed it. He leapt in front of Wilson to intercept Taylor's pass and took it 55 yards for a touchdown. It was the Bucs' first interception of the season and their first defensive score since last October. "It's a great feeling, especially when you don't see the end zone for a couple years," Dean said. "Then you finally get it it's, like, this is the momentum I needed." It certainly was the momentum his team needed. Tampa Bay took a 20-6 lead to the locker room instead of only a two field-goal lead. Dean's interception also allowed the Bucs, who received the ball to start the second half, to string together a 10-0 run without the Jets having an opportunity to respond. The Jets kneeled the half away after Dean's pick-six left only 21 seconds on the clock. The Bucs ultimately would need every point. "It was huge," Todd Bowles said. "It really gave us a boost. (Dean's) been playing good the past couple weeks and it showed." Cornerback Zyon McCollum called Dean's interception "an out-of-body experience." "It was amazing, seeing him catch the ball and seeing him go for six," McCollum said. "It couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy." Tampa Bay's defense had forced its first turnover of the season earlier in the quarter when safety Antoine Winfield Jr. strip-sacked Taylor and nose tackle Vita Vea recovered the fumble at the Jets' 32-yard line. "Everyone (is) competing to see who gets turnovers," Dean said. The Bucs added a 33-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal just over a minute later to make it 13-6. While the first half was encouraging for the Bucs defense because they forced two turnovers and allowed only six points, the Jets were able to find more rhythm in the second half. New York scored 21 fourth-quarter points, though seven of those were the result of a blocked field-goal attempt. Still, the Bucs aim to put together a more complete performance when the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles come to town next Sunday. "We preach about that killer instinct and that's something that we want and we obviously need to learn how to get collectively," McCollum said. Nicolas Villamil, Tampa Bay Times, published 22 September 2025