PITTSBURGH — 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.