Jaguar Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off : Interconference: Tampa Bay hangs on for 17-16 victory when Jacksonville fails to score on two-point conversion try in final minute.

Jacksonville Coach Tom Coughlin decided to go for the two-point conversion. He wound up with a one-point loss.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hung on for a 17-16 victory Sunday after Steve Beuerlein’s two-point conversion pass to Jimmy Smith was caught out of bounds with 37 seconds left.

“It was my decision and I’ll take the responsibility,” the normally conservative Coughlin said.

“I made up my mind during the drive. We had the momentum and had an opportunity to get the thing over. A lower throw, a little earlier, and we’re there.”

Beuerlein, who replaced the injured Mark Brunell early in the fourth quarter, set the stage for a dramatic finish with a 12-yard scoring pass to Pete Mitchell that capped a 96-yard drive.

Smith broke open in the left corner of the end zone, but couldn’t quite catch up to the quarterback’s throw before stepping out of bounds with Tampa Bay’s Charles Dimry in pursuit.

The receiver thought he caught the ball in bounds, but didn’t argue the call. When he turned and looked at the ground after making the catch, he saw his footprints clearly outside the end zone.

“You can make a case for not going for it,” Beuerlein said. “Initially, I was a little surprised. When they pointed to me and said ‘We’re going for two,’ we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s get it.’ I wish I would have put the ball six inches lower.”

The Buccaneers (6-5) celebrated, but the game still wasn’t over. Jacksonville’s Dave Thomas recovered an on-sides kick, giving the Jaguars one more shot.

Tampa Bay’s Martin Mayhew intercepted a pass intended for Desmond Howard on the next play, however, and the Buccaneers ran out the clock.

Tampa Bay Coach Sam Wyche said he would have kicked the extra point if he had been in Coughlin’s shoes, but added he understood what might have been going through the Jacksonville coach’s mind.

“I don’t think it’s a bad call. Their starting quarterback was on the bench,” Wyche said. “They probably didn’t want to risk that we’d move the ball down the field again . . . or take a chance on [losing] the coin flip [in overtime].”

Errict Rhett rushed for 100 yards in 24 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Buccaneers ended a three-game losing streak and equaled their victory total for last season.

Jacksonville (3-8), which got 10 reception for 161 yards from Mitchell, lost its third consecutive game in front of a crowd of 71,629--largest this season for a Buccaneers home game.

“I think this was a very, very big game in their minds--just listening to their coaches talk and their players,” Wyche said.