National Football League

Hester not too festive; Isn't in mood to celebrate record-tying return after defeat

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:15 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Devin Hester was in no mood to celebrate his NFL-record-tying 13th return for a touchdown after a disappointing 23-20 loss Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks.

''It hasn't hit me yet,'' a dejected Hester said. ''I can't get excited about it coming off a loss.''

Hester fielded a punt late in the fourth quarter, picked up some blocks and headed up the left sideline. Once he turned the corner, there was no catching him. The 89-yard return narrowed the Bears' deficit to three with 1:54 left.

The Bears had used all their timeouts, so after a failed onside kick, the Seahawks were able to run out the clock.

''If we can get him to the sideline, with his speed, nobody is going to catch him,'' Corey Graham said.

Hester tied the record set by Brian Mitchell despite 808 fewer returns. His second punt return for a touchdown this season was the ninth of his career, tying him with Mitchell for second all-time, one behind Eric Metcalf. The 89-yarder equaled the longest punt return of his career.

''That was big for Devin,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''We rely on our special teams quite a bit, but it was a little too late.''

What return?

Earl Bennett has had several good downfield blocks, but nothing that compared to the crunching blow he put on Seahawks punter Jon Ryan on Hester's 89-yard punt return.

''I mean, I wasn't trying to kill the guy or nothing,'' Bennett said. ''I'm playing football, you know?''

Bears kicker Robbie Gould came off the sideline to see if Ryan was OK and was quickly followed by the Bears' and Seahawks' medical staffs. Ryan remained down for several minutes before being helped from the field.

''It sucks when you get one returned on you like that, especially when you don't remember it,'' Ryan said.

WILLIAMS 'COMFORTABLE'

Former starting left tackle Chris Williams said playing guard for the first time in his NFL career felt natural.

''I felt comfortable,'' he said. ''We have to get more communication and do a better job of letting Olin [Kreutz] know what's going on and playing better football. That's what it comes down to.''

Matt Forte benefitted from a solid block from Williams while scoring on a six-yard touchdown run early in the game. It was Forte's sixth touchdown.

''He did a hell of a job,'' Kreutz said. ''Chris is a smart football player, and he's going to be good wherever you put him. He came out there and took it on his shoulders and played well."

SHORT-YARDAGE BACK

When the Bears needed to pick up a key first down on fourth-and-one late in the game, it wasn't Forte who got the call but Chester Taylor, who burst off right tackle for 24 yards.

Short yardage has been a big problem. On nine goal-to-go chances from the 1, for example, the Bears are 0-for-9.

''I seem to be,'' Taylor said when asked if he was the new short-yardage back. ''I had some success. The offensive line did a great job on that play.''

BEAR NECESSITIES

Brian Iwuh started for Lance Briggs, who was held out because of a high ankle sprain, and had a game-high nine tackles.

- Caleb Hanie reclaimed his backup quarterback spot. Todd Collins, who started against the Carolina Panthers and threw four interceptions, was listed as the third quarterback.

- Devin Aromashodu caught two passes for 40 yards. They were his first receptions since he had five for 71 yards in the season-opening win over the Detroit Lions.

SCHEDULE

Sept. 12

W DETROIT

19-14

Sept. 19

W at Dallas

27-20

Sept. 19

W GREEN BAY

20-17

OCT. 3

L at NY Giants

17-3

OCT. 10

W at Carolina

23-6

OCT. 17

L SEATTLE

23-20

OCT. 24

WASHINGTON

Noon, Fox-32

BYE WEEK

NOV. 7

at Buffalo in Toronto

Noon, Fox-32

NOV. 14

MINNESOTA

Noon, Fox-32

NOV. 18

at Miami

7:20 p.m., NFLN

NOV. 28

PHILADELPHIA

Noon, Fox-32

DEC. 5

at Detroit

Noon, Fox-32

DEC. 12

NEW ENGLAND

Noon, Ch. 2

DEC. 20

at Minnesota

7:30 p.m., ESPN

DEC. 26

NEW YORK JETS

Noon, Ch. 2

JAN. 2

at Green Bay

Noon, Fox-32

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

12:42: BEARS--Forte 6 run (Gould kick). Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:18. Key plays: Lewis 58-yard defensive pass-interference penalty; Cutler 13 pass to Forte.

10:03: SEAHAWKS--Butler 22 pass from Hasselbeck (Mare kick). Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:39. Key plays: Hasselbeck 14 pass to Carlson; Hasselbeck 16 pass to Williams on third-and-6; Hasselbeck 24 pass to Williams.

SECOND QUARTER

14:51: SEAHAWKS--Forsett 9 run (Mare kick). Drive:

7 plays, 37 yards, 2:41. Key plays: Maynard punt out of bounds at Bears' 37; Hasselbeck 12 pass to Williams on third-and-4; Hasselbeck 11 pass to Butler.

11:51: BEARS--FG Gould 34. Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 3:00. Key plays: Cutler 34 pass to Aromashodu; Cutler

36 pass to Bennett.

1:10: BEARS--FG Gould 24. Drive: 7 plays, 86 yards, 2:19. Key plays: Cutler 67 pass to Knox; Cutler 13 pass to Knox.

THIRD QUARTER

11:40: SEAHAWKS--Safety after Cutler recovers own fumble in end zone. Drive: 2 plays, -10 yards, 0:46.

FOURTH QUARTER

13:45: SEAHAWKS--Lynch 1 run (Mare kick). Drive:

11 plays, 92 yards, 5:43. Key plays: Hasselbeck 21 pass

to Williams; Hasselbeck 18 pass to Williams; Hasselbeck 15 pass to Butler on third-and-4; Forsett 13 run.

1:54: BEARS--Hester 89 punt return (Gould kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATS

SEAHAWKS

RUSHING

Att Yds Avg Lng

J. Forsett 10 67 6.7 13

M. Lynch 17 44 2.6 12

Robinson 1 3 3.0 3

Hasselbck 3 -3 -1.0 0

PASSING

Att /Cmp Yds Int

Hasselbck 40 25 242 0

RECEIVING

No Yds Lg

M. Williams 10 123 24

D. Butler 4 47 22

J. Carlson 2 21 14

B. Stokley 3 17 9

C. Baker 1 16 16

M. Lynch 3 9 5

J. Forsett 1 9 9

L. Washington 1 0 0

PUNT RETURNS

No Yds Lng

G. Tate 4 -2 5

KICKOFF RETURNS

No Yds Lng

L. Washington 3 77 42

G. Tate 1 10 10

J. Carlson 1 0 0

DEFENSE

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS--Trufant 4-2-0, Thurmond 4-1-0, Thomas

4-0-0, Babineaux 3-1-1.5, Lewis 3-0-1, Cole 3-0-0, Herring 3-0-0, Milloy 2-0-1, Curry 2-0-1, Brock 2-0-1, Bryant 2-0-0, Clemons

1-2-.5, Balmer 1-0-0, M.McCoy 1-0-0, Tatupu 1-0-0, Terrill 0-1-0.

BEARS

RUSHING

Att Yds Avg Lng

C. Taylor 4 31 7.8 24

J. Cutler 2 19 9.5 14

M. Forte 8 11 1.4 6

PASSING

Att /Cmp Yds Int

J. Cutler 39 17 290 0

RECEIVING

No Yds Lg

J. Knox 5 120 67

E. Bennett 3 55 36

M. Forte 3 40 19

D. Aromashodu 2 40 34

D. Hester 2 26 19

Manumaleuna 1 5 5

C. Taylor 1 4 4

PUNT RETURNS

No Yds Lng

D. Hester 2 93 89

KICKOFF RETURNS

No Yds Lng

D. Manning 2 27 21

DEFENSE

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS--Iwuh 8-2-0, Tillman 7-0-0, Tinoisamoa 6-2-0, C.Harris 5-2-0, Urlacher 4-2-0, Jennings

3-1-0, Manning 3-1-0, D.Moore 3-0-0, Steltz 3-0-0, Bowman 2-0-0, Peppers

1-1-0, Toeaina 1-1-0, Adams 1-0-0, Bullocks 1-0-0, R.Davis 1-0-0, Graham 1-0-0, T.Harris 1-0-0, Melton

1-0-0, Roach 1-0-0, Wolfe

1-0-0, Idonije 0-2-0, K.Davis 0-1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS--Gould 54 (WR).

TEAM STATISTICS

SEAHAWKS BEARS

Total first downs 20 15

Rushing/passing/penalty 6/14/0 3/11/1

Third-down efficiency 7/18 0/12

Fourth-down efficiency 0/0 1/1

Total net yards 353 307

Total off. plays/avg. gain 71/5.0 59/5.2

Net yards rushing 111 61

Total rushing plays/avg. gain 31/3.6 14/4.4

Net yards passing 242 246

Sacked for loss/yards 0/0 6/44

Gross yards passing 242 290

Passes/comp./int. 40/25/0 39/17/0

Average gain per pass 6.1 5.5

Punts: No./average 10/39.7 8/38.1

Had blocked 0 0

Total return yardage 85 120

No./yards punt returns 4/-2 2/93

No./yards kickoff returns 5/87 2/27

No./yards interception returns 0/0 0/0

Penalties: No./yards. 5/83 2/18

Fumbles: No./lost 1/0 1/0

Extra points made/attempts 3/3 2/2

Field goals made/attempts 0/0 2/3

Time of possession 34:23 25:37

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League