Pats Pulpit
Sunday was an emotional morning for Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas and running back Terrell Jennings.
The two, who grew up together and were high school teammates at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Fla., were mourning the loss of Douglas’ uncle, who died Saturday night.
“He was with us. This whole morning was hard,” Douglas said. “As people came up to me, I tried to try to keep – I can’t even think. I just tried to be a man, and I just had to put my head down. I just know he was with me, and he was with Terrell, too.”
What came next was a career day for both Douglas and Jennings.
The receiver had the first 100-yard performance of his career and hauled in the game’s opening touchdown. Jennings, who was signed from the practice squad this week, then went on to score his first NFL touchdown — which prompted Douglas to sprint off the sideline to the end zone to celebrate.
“I saw the hole. As soon as I touched the end zone, I just praised the Lord. I’m thanking God in my head, like, thank you God,” Jennings said. “This is what I play the game for, to get in the end zone. My teammates being there, that made the whole experience better.”
“You’d think I was on the field how fast I got out there,” Douglas added with a smile.
With Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined with a toe injury, New England relied on Jennings and fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson in the ground game Sunday. In addition to his score, Jennings finished with 35 yards and a 100 percent success rate in late-down situations.
The performance was Douglas’ message to Jennings throughout the year coming to light.
“I tell him every day, it’s a blessing to be here. When he was a fourth string running back, he had his doubts,” Douglas said. “Trust the process and everything is going to play out alright.”
