Hester Earns 12th Player of the Week Honors................

Hester wins 12th career player-of-week honor

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...1/66126660.jpg Devin Hester returns a punt for a touchdown Sunday against the Lions. (Brian Cassella, McClatchy-Tribune / November 13, 2011)

By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter 9:27 a.m. CST, November 16, 2011


So much for Devin Hester being sick: The Chicago Bears kick returner exited Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions early due to an illness, but he accomplished enough before leaving to be named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Week.

Hester has won three Player of the Week awards this season and 12 in his career, which puts him in a tie for 11th for most awards won since 1984 (Peyton Manning leads with 21).

Hester had an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown and compiled 122 punt return yards on three returns. And he entered the game under the weather and nursing an ankle injury.

Hester’s touchdown was the 17th kick return score of his career, extending an NFL record. The touchdown was the 18th return touchdown (12 punt, five kickoff, one missed field goal) of his career, second most in NFL history surpassing Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (17), trailing Hall of Famer Deion Sanders (19). Hester has reached the mark in 85 career games played while Woodson played in 238 and Sanders 188.

It was Hester's 12th Special Teams Player of the Week award and third of the season.

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Twitter @vxmcclure23

He should be this sick and injured every week. Devin does love these prime time games doesn't he? By now he's earned as much right to it as Sanders. To have reached this number if roughly half the games that Sanders did and about one third the number Woodson did is hard to believe especially since all of Hesters have come on kick off or punt returns.

I can't see anyway they can keep him from being elected to the HOF as a return man. Nobody has ever done it even half as well for this long and he's far from finished. The only thing that can stop him from putting it out of reach is if the stop kicking to him entirely which is probably the smart thing to do. He had one against the Lions and he damn near broke two more. How may has he had called back because of penalties?