ST. LOUIS — Devin Hester is just a rookie, yet he's already been dubbed "The Man" by teammates. He certainly was the Chicago Bears' main man in St. Louis, where he set an NFL record for kick return touchdowns.

The high-stepping youngster got his fifth and sixth returns for touchdowns this season, a 94-yard kickoff runback in the second quarter and a 96-yarder in the final period of Chicago's 42-27 victory Monday night. With the win, the NFC North champions (11-2) earned a bye for the first week of the playoffs.

"He's spectacular, man. He's prime time, baby," running back Cedric Benson said. "He's been doing that in college. I was a fan of his in college."

Added linebacker Lance Briggs: "I guess you can call him 'The Man.' Give him the status and all that goes with that. He's an impact player in this league. He's something special. Get your popcorn ready, you know he's going to put on a show."

Many of the Bears put on a show in all but eliminating the Rams (5-8) from playoff contention. Thomas Jones keyed the running game that dominated the decisive third quarter and Muhsin Muhammad made several clutch catches. So did Bernard Berrian as beleaguered quarterback Rex Grossman silenced the critics — for now.

But Hester was the most spectacular, and he doesn't expect his heroics to end anytime soon.

"It's the NFL and a team is not going to bow down to one player," Hester said. "They'll continue to kick to me."

They're fools if they do.

"It's like the gates of Heaven opening up for me," he added.

A second-round draft pick, Hester also has three punt return touchdowns and ran back a missed field goal 108 yards against the Giants to tie the longest play in NFL history. But he'd returned only six kickoffs all year before his historic romps.

"The story of the game is Devin Hester," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "It's time we start looking at him as an offensive player. There are a lot of good offensive rookies in the league making big plays, but who has had as much impact as Devin Hester has in the league as a rookie right now?"