Devin Hester highlighted a 35-point first half by the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night by putting his name in the National Football League record book.

The wide receiver returned a second-quarter punt 56 yards for his 20th return for a touchdown, breaking the mark he shared with Deion Sanders.

Hester, 31, caught the punt at the Falcons' 44-yard line, found a seam up the middle, zipped around the last Tampa Bay Buccaneer he needed to beat, punter Michael Koenen, and then paid tribute to Sanders, now a television analyst who was covering the game, with an extended high step into the end zone.

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Hester left the game with cramps late in the second quarter but returned in the third. He also recovered a fumble and had a 20-yard touchdown run.

Following a lost fumble by Bucs running back Bobby Rainey late in the first quarter and a recovery by Atlanta safety Dwight Lowery, Hester ran around left end for a 20-yard score on the first play of the second quarter to make it 28-0.

Hester's second TD was set up after Falcons running back Antone Smith lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay 1 and the Bucs went three-and-out.