MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Buffalo Bills lost cornerback Rasul Douglas to a knee injury in the first half Sunday night against the Miami Dolphins, but Douglas expressed confidence that he would be ready for the playoff opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I’m going to get through it,” he said in the postgame locker room. “We’ll see what’s going on (Monday), and we’ll go from there.”
When head coach Sean McDermott met with reporters over Zoom on Monday, he said he was still waiting on updates from head athletic trainer Nate Breske on all players.
“I don’t have much because we got back too late,” McDermott said on injuries. “But I’ll have more for you guys on Wednesday.”
Douglas injured his left knee in the second quarter and went into the sideline medical tent. He emerged and tried to test the knee before heading back into the tent. He would then go to the locker room for further evaluation and was deemed questionable to return.
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Douglas said he was going to try to come back into the game, but fellow cornerback Dane Jackson was confident that if Douglas wasn’t 100% good, Jackson could handle the job.
“I was just like, ‘Go ahead bro,’” Douglas said. “And I’d rather him be 100 (percent) out there, than me not being 100.”
Douglas said Jackson and Christian Benford played great games. Still, it was tough to stay on the sideline.
“That was my first time, cause I don’t really get injured like that,” Douglas said. “I don’t wanna be on the sideline during plays. I’d rather be in the game.”
Douglas played 25 snaps, 48% of defensive snaps, prior to the injury.
Douglas has provided the Bills with consistent play on defense after being acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Green Bay Packers. He has four interceptions, a sack and two fumble recoveries in nine games since the trade.
General manager Brandon Beane has heralded both Douglas’ instincts and his preparation.
“He’s just got an innate feel of how the game is played, what they’re trying to do,” Beane told The Buffalo News. “And then a lot of people have that, but they don’t also have the ball skills with it. He’s got really good ball skills with it. And I think we’ve seen it, that he’s had some some big games as far as turnovers for us, to either put our offense in good scoring position, or even (against the Patriots), he scored himself.”
Davis report
McDermott didn’t have updates on any player injuries, but wide receiver Gabe Davis may have avoided a major injury.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Davis “suffered a PCL sprain that is not considered major. His status is TBD, but he has not been ruled out of anything just yet.” Davis was ruled questionable to return with a knee injury during the first half of Sunday’s game.
Katherine Fitzgerald
Sports reporter