Devin Hester won't put extra pressure on himself Sunday

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Devin Hester always seems to raise his level of play in big games. But the Bears' Pro Bowl return specialist won’t try to force anything in Sunday’s divisional playoff contest against the Seahawks.

“I’m not going to put pressure on myself like that,” Hester said Monday. “I’m just going to go out and be myself and whenever I get my opportunities, try to make the best of it.”

Six of Hester’s kick return touchdowns have come in prime-time games. That includes two that don’t count toward his NFL-record total of 14 scores: a 108-yard return of a missed field goal in a Sunday night win over the Giants on Nov. 12, 2006 and a 92-yard return of the opening kickoff in Super Bowl XLI.

Hester, who returned a punt 89 yards for a TD late in the Bears’ 23-20 loss to the Seahawks on Oct. 17, led the NFL in punt returns this season with a career-high 17.1-yard average and three TDs.

Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who got obliterated by Earl Bennett on Hester's 89-yard punt return, ranked 28th in the NFL in gross average (41.7) and 19th in net average (37.3) this season. He placed 27 of 78 punts inside-the-20 with only one touchback.

A constant threat to go the distance, Hester has helped the Bears rank No. 1 in the league in both punt return average and opponent’s net punt average.

“It’s always a positive,” he said. “It’s a positive for the offense, as well as the team. [A short punt] not only gives the offense half of the field to go, if you get two first downs you’re in field-goal range.”

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(chicagobears.com)