It was the top showing by a wide receiver in the league until Tampa Bay's Antonio Bryant, who spent the 2007 season out of Football, topped White on Monday night. Bryant caught nine passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. One catch was a spectacular one-handed grab for a touchdown.

"He runs all of the routes, he is a great finisher and he is a tremendous talent," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden said. "Hopefully, guys like Antonio Bryant and Roddy White start to get some national recognition, because the NFC South is loaded with outstanding receivers."

White has 78 catches for a league-leading 1,249 yards. He needs just 94 yards to set a new team single-season record, which is currently held by Terance Mathis (1,342 yards in 1994).

Bryant (below) has 66 catches for 936 yards.

BUCS WILL LOOT YOUR SHIP

Always ready to attack

The Buccaneers are Football pirates. If you don't take care of the Football, they will take it from you and score points.

The Falcons found this out in Week 2, when turnovers led to 10 points and helped the Bucs open a 17-0 lead.

Tampa Bay has scored 94 points on turnovers this season, which ranks tied for fourth in the NFL with San Diego. Green Bay (114), Baltimore (110) and the New York Jets (96) have more.

"They attack the Football when the receivers catch it," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "They attack the running backs running it. It's going to be a challenge for us."

GARCIA IS TOUGH ON THE MOVE

Defense: Hit early and often

The Falcons faced Tampa Bay quarterback Brian Griese in Week 2. Jeff Garcia has since regained the starting quarterback position.

"He still has the athletic ability to move around in the pocket," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "One of his strengths is his ability to extend plays, when the integrity of the play breaks down."

Falcons defensive end John Abraham will try to add to his 12 1/2 sacks while chasing Garcia around.

"Our big thing is to try and not let him kill us with his feet," Abraham said. "Hopefully, we can get a little pressure on him and get him to throw the ball early."

Abraham doesn't buy into the notion that it's just Garcia who will get "happy feet" if he gets hit early in the game.

"I think that's any quarterback," Abraham said. "If you are hitting him early, he's going to automatically not want to get hit."

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE

'Rolling on all cylinders'

The Falcons have scored just one touchdown in their past three games against the Bucs and been outscored 92-19.

That lone touchdown was a Joey Harrington to Adam Jennings fourth-quarter pass last season with the Falcons down 31-0.

In Week 2 this season, the Falcons settled for three field goals in a 24-9 defeat.

"It's a totally different offense now," said Falcons running back Michael Turner, who was held to a season-low 42 yards rushing in that game. "We hadn't gelled as a team yet. We've got some games under our belts now. We are rolling on all cylinders now."

The Bucs defense gave up 299 yards rushing last week against Carolina and dropped from ninth-best rushing defense to 18th. They had given up only one rushing touchdown before the Panthers ran for four.

"They are going to be solid up front," Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. "They are going to make some adjustments."

RED-ZONE WONDERS

Tampa holds the line

Tampa Bay has allowed just 13 touchdowns to teams who have been fortunate enough to move the ball inside their 20-yard line.

That's only happened 25 times this season. The 13 touchdowns are the second fewest red-zone touchdowns in the league.

In the first meeting, the Falcons had drives stall at the 14-, 9- and 6-yard lines and had to settle for three Jason Elam field goals.

MATCHUP

* Favorite: Falcons by 3

* Series record: Buccaneers lead 18-12.

* Last meeting: Buccaneers 24, Falcons 9, Sept. 14, 2008

* Last week: Buccaneers lost to Carolina 38-23; Falcons lost to New Orleans 29-25

* Notes: Tampa Bay can clinch at least a wild-card playoff bid by beating the Falcons and having either Dallas lose to the Giants or Philadelphia lose to Cleveland. ... Tampa Bay has gone six games without scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. ... Neither the Bucs nor Falcons has lost back-to-back games this season. ... NFC South teams are 24-2 at home this season. The Falcons have one of those losses, a 24-20 setback to Denver. ... Falcons RB Michael Turner is second in the league in yards rushing (1,269) and has tied the franchise record by running for 14 TDs. ... The Falcons are trying to clinch their first winning season since 2004, when they went 11-5 and reached the NFC championship game before losing to Philadelphia. They have never had back-to-back winning records in their 43-season history. ... Atlanta is hoping for the return of LT Sam Baker to bolster the offensive line. The rookie missed the past seven games recovering from back surgery. ... Falcons rookie QB Matt Ryan was just 13-for-33 for 158 yards with two interceptions in the first game vs. the Bucs.

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