Atlanta Falcon’s receiver and return specialist extraordinaire, Devin Hester rewrote the record books by becoming the all-time leader in returns for touchdowns. In the process, he helped the Falcons soar past the Tampa BayBuccaneers 56-14 in the Thursday night NFC South drubbing.
In addition to Hester’s record-breaking return, Matt Ryan was playing pitch and catch all night with his receiving corp. going 21 of 24 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Julio Jones continued to be Ryan’s favorite target finishing with nine receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Hester would soar to the record in the 3rd quarter on a punt return. He caught the punt on the -38 yard line, made one defender miss, and raced down the left sideline high stepping a la Deion Sanders. He not only emulated the Hall of Fame defensive back who witnessed Hester’s feat live from the NFL Network set where he works, Hester passed the returner better known as “Primetime!” There is a special bond between Hester and Sanders who has been a mentor to him since his days at the University of Miami.
I love this man @D_Hest23 to Life! He’s a Great father,husband,friend,teammate,son and athlete. He’s the Best! #Truth pic.twitter.com/5yKOeqXCPR
— DeionSanders (@DeionSanders) September 19, 2014
Hester got into the act in every way possible. He was targeted once which resulted in a 25 yard gain. He had a 20 yard rushing touchdown on an end around and he forced a fumble after the Bucs stripped the ball away and Hester stripped it back.
The Bucs finally got into the scoring column when Mike Glennon, who took over for an injured Josh McCown (thumb), found Vincent Jackson on a short 50/50 jump ball. The very next series, Bucs linebacker Danny Lansanah picked off backup Falcon’s quarterback TJ Yates and raced 27 yards for a touchdown helping his team avoid a record-breaking loss. Their worst lost was a 2011 beat down by the San Francisco 49ers a 48-3.
The Bucs defense was without their leader in defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and middle linebacker Mason Foster. They definitely missed the middle of their defense because they were lit up to the tune of 488 total yards.
Offensively, the Bucs were without Doug Martin which could have proven critical because his replacement Bobby Rainey accounted for two of the five Tampa Bay turnovers.
The Buc will use the extra time off to regroup and hopefully get their players and offensive coordinator (Jeff Tedford) healthy. The road doesn’t get any easier for Tampa Bay as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on a Steelers ball club hungry for a win.
The Falcons will look to continue flying high when they travel to take on a Minnesota Vikings team in disarray due in part to the loss of Adrian Peterson.
