Chicago Bears Wide receiver Devin Hester has made NFL history Monday night when the Bears crushed the Minnesota Vikings and secured the NFC North Title.
He returned Chris Kluwe’s 34 yard punt for a 64 yards touchdown early in the third quarter. This was Hester’s record setting 14th kick-off or punt return touchdown.
Hester had been waiting for this day for a while. He was tied with Brian Mitchell in week 6 after he scored his 13th return touchdown against Seattle with an 89-yard return. Ever since then he has been waiting for the 14th. “The return
felt great and it's a big load off my back.”
In November, Hester said that when he would score his 14th return touchdown, he wouldn’t say that he broke the NFL record. “I'm going to say [we did it] as a unit.” A unit or not, it was clearly Hester who led the effort. Hester had come close
on many occasions. Before he returned the 34-yard punt, he almost returned the previous kick for touchdown. He carried the ball 79 yards to Minnesota’s 6-yard line before he was taken down. The Bears scored a field goal in that drive.
In the end, Hester had the last laugh. He caught the ball on the 36-yard line as the Vikings converged on him. He slipped through their defence and hugged the sideline as he darted to the end zone. His 14th return might have been the easiest as
he met almost no resistance to the end. “I just realized that I am starting to appreciate (the record) more, than if I had broken it earlier in the year. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much.”
Hester 14 returns came off 10 punts and four kick-offs for TDs. He has set his record in just 74 career games. Mitchell accumulated his 13 returns in 223 career games. Unless something goes wrong for Hester, we could expect his name to remain in the record
books for some time to come.
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