Kalif Raymond put his name in the NFL record books on Sunday. Raymond ran back a punt 90 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of Detroit’s 52-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. The wideout then caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff later in the quarter.
That made Raymond the first player in NFL history to return a punt for a touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. The punt return TD was the first for Raymond since the 2022 season despite several close calls–including another one in this game.
After the victory, the high-energy wideout was brimming with excitement about the punt return TD.
“I’ve been ready for that feeling too many times,” Raymond told reporters. “It’s kind of surreal, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, oh, it’s happening, it’s happening,’ saying, ‘Don’t mess up, don’t mess up.’ But, no when you got guys like that – I’ve been saying it the past 30-45 minutes – when you got defensive guys who will go play three snaps, force a punt, and then go block on the punt, it’s incredible.”
Entering the Week 8 game, Raymond had 14 returns for 125 total yards in Detroit’s first six games. Against Tennessee, Raymond raced to 190 yards on five punt returns.