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Hester wins fourth player of week award of season


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http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=4249

 

Hester wins fourth player of week award of season

By Larry Mayer

 

LAKE FOREST, Ill. The incomparable Devin Hester on Wednesday was named NFC special teams player of the week for his performance in last Sunday's season finale at Soldier Field.

 

Hester returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown in the Bears' 33-25 win over the New Orleans Saints. It was his sixth kick return TD of the season, enabling the 2006 second-round pick to break the NFL record of five he had set last year as a rookie.

 

The punt return TD was Hester's fourth of the season, allowing him to tie the league mark set by the Lions' Jack Christiansen in 1951 and equaled by the Broncos' Rick Upchurch in 1976.

 

Hester now has 11 kickoff and punt return touchdowns in 32 regular-season games, the fourth most in NFL history. All-time leader Brian Mitchell had 13 return TDs in 223 career games. Hester needs just one more TD to tie Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf for second place.

 

Hester's seven punt return TDs are tied for the sixth most in NFL history with David Meggett. Metcalf is the all-time leader with 10. Others ahead of Hester include Mitchell with nine; and Christiansen, Upchurch and Desmond Howard with eight.

 

Hester's 11 return TDs do not include his 108-yard return of a missed field goal Nov. 12, 2006 against the Giants or his 92-yard kickoff return versus the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

 

With his 64-yard punt return last Sunday, Hester became the first player in NFL history to accumulate at least 600 punt-return yards in two seasons. With 651 yards this season, he broke the Bears record he set last year with 600 yards.

 

Hester has now won seven NFC special teams player of the week awards, including four this season. Since the NFL started announcing player of the week awards for each conference in 1984, Hester’s seven special teams honors are tied with Hall for the most among return men.

 

Hester's seven weekly awards are the most by a Bears player, surpassing the six that Richard Dent earned on defense.

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