Devin Hester said before Thursday's game that he would break the record of most returned touchdowns, held by Deion Sanders. Sanders was in attendance as he watched Hester do just that with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Falcons blowout win over the Buccaneers 56-14.
The return was the 20th of Hester's career, who is in his first season with the Falcons after spending 8 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Hester was very emotional on the sideline after his record-breaking return in the 2nd quarter. It was the headline of a game that was never really close from the beginning. The Falcons scored on their first drive of the game, a 3-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas.
Matt Ryan threw for over 400 yards in week 1 against the Saints, but threw 3 interceptions in week 2's loss to the Bengals. Many questioned which Ryan we would see Thursday night, so he answered those critics with 286 yards and 3 touchdowns. He would find Douglas, and Julio Jones twice in the end-zone.
Not only did Hester break Sanders' record, and in Sanders' high leg kick style, but he also ran the ball 20 yards in for a score. Antone Smith and Steven Jackson also had rushing touchdowns for Atlanta, while Kemal Ishmael had a pick-6 on the night. The Falcons look to rebound from a stunning 4-win season a year ago, and they improved to 2-1 on the early season. Lovie Smith's Buccaneers fell to 0-3 with Thursday's blowout loss in Smith's first season with the team.
The return was the 20th of Hester's career, who is in his first season with the Falcons after spending 8 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Hester was very emotional on the sideline after his record-breaking return in the 2nd quarter. It was the headline of a game that was never really close from the beginning. The Falcons scored on their first drive of the game, a 3-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas.
Matt Ryan threw for over 400 yards in week 1 against the Saints, but threw 3 interceptions in week 2's loss to the Bengals. Many questioned which Ryan we would see Thursday night, so he answered those critics with 286 yards and 3 touchdowns. He would find Douglas, and Julio Jones twice in the end-zone.
Not only did Hester break Sanders' record, and in Sanders' high leg kick style, but he also ran the ball 20 yards in for a score. Antone Smith and Steven Jackson also had rushing touchdowns for Atlanta, while Kemal Ishmael had a pick-6 on the night. The Falcons look to rebound from a stunning 4-win season a year ago, and they improved to 2-1 on the early season. Lovie Smith's Buccaneers fell to 0-3 with Thursday's blowout loss in Smith's first season with the team.
