Eric Metcalf of San Diego set an NFL record with his ninth career punt return for a touchdown Sunday night, racing 83 yards to score against Denver in the third quarter.
Metcalf, who has played for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, had shared the record of eight punt returns for TDs with Detroit’s Jack Christiansen (1951-58) and Denver’s Rick Upchurch (1975-83).
It was the 11th kick-return touchdown of his career, extending the record he set Nov. 2 by returning punts 85 and 67 yards for touchdowns in a 38-31 loss at Cincinnati. He has two kickoff returns and nine punt returns for TDs in the regular season, plus one kickoff in the playoffs that doesn’t count in that total.
Metcalf has three punt-return touchdowns this season. The NFL record is four, set by Christiansen in 1951 and equaled by Upchurch in 1976.
