Demario Douglas exits Patriots vs. Giants with head, neck injuries

New England Patriots Highlights vs. New York Giants | 2023 Regular Season Week 12

New England Patriots wide receiver Demario “Pop” Douglas exited Sunday’s game against the New York Giants due to a hard-hitting, high-speed hit on the head in the fourth quarter.

The hit came from Giants linebacker Cam Brown, who whacked Douglas on the facemask with his forearm. It threw the wide receiver backward violently, resulting in head and neck injuries. The medical team deemed Douglas unfit to continue playing, ruling him out with only ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Douglas had made six catches from nine targets and accumulated 49 yards.

In the fourth quarter, New York seized the advantage as safety Xavier McKinney assisted placekicker Randy Bullock in scoring a 42-yard field goal. The team capitalized on the Patriots’ lackluster quarterbacks, leading to a 10-7 win against New England.

Backlash for no penalty

After learning that no penalty had been prescribed for Brown, New England safety Jabrill Peppers denounced the situation as “crazy.”

“It’s just crazy, you know, because they preach all this player safety stuff, but then that doesn’t get flagged. But I’ve been fined maybe two or three times for clean hits. So that pissed me off, too,” Peppers said.

“They even looked up on the Jumbotron and saw it, and there was still no flag. But you can’t say anything about the refs in this league. So it is what it is. But to me, that’s a joke. You can’t say you care about player safety and not flag that play.”

Peppers said the no-penalty decision was a “joke” and called out the league as hypocritical for not penalizing the hit despite their emphasis on players’ safety. Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker also expressed frustration, calling the situation nonsense and urging the league to flag or fine Brown for his actions.

Despite the injury, Douglas said he was in good condition without a detrimental concussion to his head. It remains unknown when he will return to playing.