. Safety Tanard Jackson got his first interception return for a touchdown in the loss to Carolina on Oct. 18. He got his second Sunday. "After I got my first one, Ronde (Barber) came up to me and said 'Those are contagious. You're going to want to get there every time you get the ball,' " Jackson said. "He didn't lie to me. That's exactly how it feels when you get the ball in your hands." When Jackson caught a tipped Aaron Rodgers pass at the Green Bay 35-yard line in the final minute with the Bucs up by three, the smart move would have been to go down. But Jackson headed for the end zone. "I didn't think about sliding or going down until after the fact," said Jackson, who weaved through the Packer offense for a touchdown. "It worked out for the best." The ball joins Jackson's collection of interception balls as one of his most memorable mementos. "It's definitely something you have to hold on to," he said. "This thing doesn't last forever. This is precious. Any time you can pick off a ball from a quarterback of Aaron Rodgers' caliber and score with it, you want to hold on to those things."
Talib gets his own tipped pick
. The Packers' Aaron Rodgers entered Sunday with two interceptions among 225 pass attempts. But the Bucs picked him off three times. The second came midway through the third quarter.
Green Bay led 21-17 and had the ball at the Tampa Bay 42-yard line when Rodgers threw a deep pass over the middle for receiver Greg Jennings. Four defensive backs were in the area. The ball bounced off safety Corey Lynch near the goal line and into the arms of cornerback Aqib Talib, who got his fifth interception of the season.
"It's a tipped ball," Talib said. "We do that drill all the time in practice."
Talib returned the interception 15 yards before he was leveled by receiver Donald Driver.
"I'm good; just got the wind knocked out of me," Talib said. "He asked me if I was all right."
The safety that almost was
. Down by four to start the second half, the Bucs pinned kickoff returner Tramon Williams at the Packers' 4-yard line. Two plays later, Stylez White and Chris Hovan appeared to sack Aaron Rodgers in the end zone for a safety. But Rodgers was ruled down just outside the goal line. The Bucs challenged, and the ruling was upheld. "To put them in that type of situation (near the goal line), we're ready to go," White said.
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