"Roddy White walking slowly to the locker room in the second quarter isn't something the Falcons ever hope to see on a Sunday afternoon.

When he did so against the Bucs, his departure left a some serious offensive slack that needed to be picked up for Atlanta to get the win.

Fortunately for the Falcons, at least one guy was qualified to step into the opening left by White: tight end Tony Gonzalez.

"He did a great job of going out there and catching balls and converting first downs, things like that," White said of Gonzalez. "When you have a Hall of Famer like that, you just ride him out."

White came back in the second half, but even his brief absence helped allow Gonzalez, a 14-year veteran, match a season high with eight receptions for 72 yards. He was targeted 11 times by quarterback Matt Ryan.

It's not an unfamiliar role for Gonzalez, who has caught more than 90 balls in a season four times in his career and had 83 in 2009, his first campaign as a Falcon.

He's more than willing to play it when the need is there, though he said this offense is deep enough to have plenty of options.

"It's a luxury to have that, where one guy steps out and the other guy's going to come in and play," Gonzalez said. "(Michael) Jenkins catching that ball down the sideline like that was a huge play for us, and I think that was right when Roddy went out. It's pretty important that we have that balance. When guys do go down, somebody else steps right up."

Indeed, Jenkins had two catches for 55 yards, and Brian Finneran filled in with three for 24."