Bills Praise Jets Mike White After Hits Send QB to Hospital: 'You're Incredible!' WATCH
It is to the credit to the toughness of New York Jets quarterback Mike White that he continued to try to re-enter the game on Sunday.
It is a credit to the toughness of the Buffalo Bills defense that their clean and assertive hits on White kept sending him out of the game ... and, after Buffalo's 20-12 win at Highmark Stadium, to the hospital.
“We’re going to send him to the hospital, just to make sure he’s good,” Jets coach Robert Saleh of White, who exited the game twice, finally in the third quarter to be evaluated for a rib injury, but was cleared to return and finish the game. “It’s more precautionary than anything.”
White has been a revelation for the Jets in place of the struggling Zach Wilson - and his grit is among the reasons he's won over teammates. The hospital trip resulted in no evidence of internal injuries, so White was allowed to rejoined his team for the flight home.
In the second quarter, White left the field after absorbing several big hits, including one from Ed Oliver that kept the QB on the ground for some time. He left the game briefly, with backup Joe Flacco replacing him, before returning to the game a few minutes later.
But then in the third quarter, a rather frightening sight - even for Bills Mafia, as outstanding Buffalo linebacker Matt Milano blitzed and delivered a legal but crushing hit to White’s midsection ... bending White's body violently.
Once again, White stayed on the ground, this time squirming in pain. Eventually he was taken to the medical tent and then back to the locker room. ...
And yet he re-appeared one more time, early in the fourth quarter, and re-entered the game.
“He was brought in[to the locker room] to get evaluated, X-rays, all that stuff,” Saleh said. “Everything checked out good, he felt good and wanted to come back in.”
The Bills continued to knock him around - again, legally - and White tried again late but ended up failing in an attempt to forge a game-tying drive.
"He's an incredible player ... Most quarterbacks would've laid down and said, 'No,'' said Buffalo's Shaq Lawson, who told White during the game, "I'm proud of you ... Keep going, show that dawg ... ''
Buffalo moves to 10-3 with the win, retaining the AFC's top seed. New York is 7-6 and trying to stay in contention, and next week, if White is healthy enough to play when the Jets host the Lions at MetLife Stadium?
Saleh said he’ll be the starter, “For sure.”
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