Hester adjusting to keepaway

PHILADELPHIA -- Devin Hester is clearly the most dangerous kick returner in the National Football League.

He's also turning out to be a pretty good wide receiver.

With Hester boasting 9 career returns for a touchdown (punt, kickoff and a blocked field goal) on his resume, the Eagles would not allow the Bears speedster to beat them Sunday.

They kicked the ball short, out of bounds or through the end zone rather than give Hester any opportunity to dazzle.

But Hester contributed by catching 3 passes for 41 yards, including 2 for 30 yards on the final drive, as the Bears rallied with nine seconds left to stun the Eagles 19-16 at Lincoln Financial Field.

"I take it as a sign of respect that they won't give me a chance to return kicks or punts," Hester said. "That's cool with me. I'm working very hard on offense at receiver. I got free a couple of times on the final drive and it paid off."

Hester had an 81-yard touchdown reception in the Bears' 34-31 loss to the Vikings last week. He didn't record his first reception against the Eagles until late in the third quarter.

"The sky is the limit for Devin," said tight end Desmond Clark. "He's fast and smart and is willing to work at it. He's been preparing for this. He made a couple of huge catches when we needed it most."

All week, the Eagles talked about Hester's elusiveness. Even though they kept him from scoring, they were hardly satisfied.

"We can't allow those types of plays down the middle with that much time remaining," said Eagles safety Sean Considine. "Give him credit for getting open. The long pass down the middle hurt. We did work during the week about limiting his touches. We felt like we did well, but it's a 60-minute game and it only takes one or two plays to make a move."

Lito Sheppard, who returned at cornerback after missing the last four games with an injured knee, tackled Hester after both receptions.

After Hester's 21-yard catch moved the ball to the 15-yard line, quarterback Brian Griese connected with Muhsin Muhammad for the game-winning, 15-yard touchdown.

"Devin is a very skilled player," Sheppard said. "We knew that coming in. We had a game plan for him. He got loose a couple of times down the middle and made plays."

With the exception of the last drive, the Bears had pretty good field position most of the game thanks to the respect shown to Hester.

Is Bears coach Lovie Smith happy with teams kicking away from Hester?

"That's something we'll have to live with," Smith said. "Field position has been good for us since teams started kicking away from Devin. We'll live with it. Devin doesn't have to take any shots -- and we get good field position."

Robbie Gould kicked 4 field goals, so if the Bears had converted a couple of those earlier drives into touchdowns the last-minute rally would have been unnecessary.

"We got the win and that's the most important thing," Hester said. "We'll take it. We need to keep winning. One opponent at a time. It's great to be contributing on offense. Any way I can help the team win, I want to do it."