2024 Hall of Fame: Devin Hester made highlights and history as an elite kick returner

Devin Hester returning the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown remains one of the enduring highlights in Super Bowl history. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Seven men will be formally enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 3 in Canton, Ohio. Yahoo Sports will take a relatively short look at each legend and how he reached football immortality.

When you think of Super Bowl XLI between the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, what’s the first play you remember? Colts fans, sit this one out.

For most football fans, it was Devin Hester’s kickoff return touchdown on the first play of the game. That might be the only time the most memorable moment in a Super Bowl came from the losing team.

Part of the reason that return became an enduring part of NFL history, regardless of the Bears’ eventual loss, is that it came from arguably the greatest returner ever. Hester is the first player who was primarily a kick returner to get into the Hall of Fame.

That Super Bowl return is a great capsule of what made Hester great. He started running laterally, scanning the field, and after a couple of quick jukes left Colts defenders grasping at a ghost he was in the open field. It was usually a wrap after that. Hester glided past the Colts for a 92-yard touchdown. Then Hester unsnapped his helmet and started a defiant walk through the end zone.

There have been many great returners in NFL history. But it’s fitting Hester made history when he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Devin Hester dominated games as a returner

Before a 2007 game between the Bears and Denver Broncos, the Broncos had the same conversation many teams had before facing Hester. Would they kick to him?

Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun made it clear. They were kicking to Hester.

“We’re not going to play chicken s*** ball,” Sauerbrun said days before the game. “We’re not going to kick away from him. Hey, we respect the hell out of him and he’s the best, but we have guys on our coverage teams…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-01 13:00:56

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