Gale Sayers wasn’t quite certain which player impressed him more, Bears kick returner/wide receiver Devin Hester or Minnesota rookie running back Adrian Peterson.
Hester broke Sayers’ career record for kick-return touchdowns with an 89-yard scoring jaunt on a punt return Sunday that gave the Bears a 7-0 first-quarter lead. It was his ninth TD kick return in 22 games. Sayers had eight in 68 career games.
“For the last couple of years, [Hester] has been a great returner,” Sayers said. “I saw where he caught a [touchdown] pass also. He’s a terrific punt returner. More power to him. I hope he continues to do it. And I hope he continues to be healthy.”
Meanwhile, Peterson set the Vikings’ single-game franchise record with 224 rushing yards. He averaged 11.2 yards for his 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. Peterson also returned four kickoffs for 128 yards, including a 53-yarder that set up Ryan Longwell’s game-winning 55-yard field goal.
“Peterson is unbelievable,” Sayers said. “I saw him play at Oklahoma. He and Cedric Benson weigh about the same, about 220. But you see how quick Peterson is. That’s the kind of back I thought Benson was going to be, but he’s not there yet.”
Sayers said he was not surprised to see the Bears kick off to Peterson after tying the game 31-31 with 1 minute 38 seconds remaining.
“The odds that he would run one back are not that good,” Sayers said. “So I didn’t mind that they kicked it to him. When the Bears tried to tackle Peterson … he has very strong legs. The Bears were bouncing off of him.”
Word on the street
The field goal Longwell booted on the last play of the game was the longest of his career. His previous best had been 54 yards.
“It was into the wind, and the referees kind of looked at each other for a second [under the goal posts], and I’m saying, ‘What’s taking so long?’ But I hit it well,” Longwell said.
Longwell said he was concerned about the footing on the field during warm-ups. A light rain was falling as he was attempting kicks from 50 yards out.
“As Soldier Field goes, the wind was pretty benign,” he said. “I had a pretty good gauge on it, but some of the days that I’ve played here [with the Packers], it’s been pretty hard to tell what’s going on.”
Sights seen
Maurice Douglass was one of the former Bears who took part in the team’s Alumni Weekend. The former defensive back (1986-94) is now the head football coach at Trotwood-Madison High School in Dayton, Ohio, where he played prep ball before moving on to Kentucky. “I have [coached] several kids who are going to Division I colleges next year,” Douglass said. “I’m really enjoying coaching.”
Overheard
Former Bears wide receiver/kick returner Bobby Wade enjoyed being on the winning side with the Vikings. Wade caught three passes for 30 yards.
“It was fun, it was everything I thought it was going to be,” Wade said. “It was fun to play against those guys you played with for so long.”
Brad Maynard forced Wade to call for fair catches on each of the four punts that went to him.
Local attractions
Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris is scheduled to appear at Great Lakes Naval Training Center at 6 p.m. Monday. Harris will participate in a ceremony honoring more than 3,000 of the U.S. Navy’s newest sailors. … Bears rookie Garrett Wolfe will visit a Junior Bear Tackle Football practice at La Follette Park, 1333 N. Laramie Ave., at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to present a check for $60,000 to the Chicago Park District on behalf of Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Bears. Bears Care has provided support to the park district by helping to fund the Junior Bear, Inner City Flag and Nerf football programs. Wolfe, a Chicago native, played in the Junior Bear program at La Follette Park as a youngster. … Wide receiver Mark Bradley will visit McCutcheon Elementary School, 4865 N. Sheridan Rd., from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Tuesday in support of the Bears’ “Hello to Our Heroes” program. Through this program, Bradley will help students write letters to men and women of the military who are stationed overseas. … Tight end Greg Olsen will visit Field Elementary School, 7019 N. Ashland Ave., guard Josh Beekman will appear at Esmond Elementary School, 1865 W. Montvale Ave., and tackle Mark LeVoir is scheduled to visit Dixon Elementary School, 8306 S. St. Lawrence, from 1-2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The last word
“I thought it was a knock-down 7-iron, but he told me it was a full driver.”
— Vikings coach Brad Childress talking about Longwell’s game-winning 55-yard field goal.
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fmitchell@tribune.com
