Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s eye-opening explanation on Demario Douglas benching after 1st-quarter fumble

September 18th, 6:27amSeptember 18th, 6:28am

Conor RocheConor Roche is a sports journalist that has covered Boston sports for a few years and has worked on the Patriots beat since the 2022 season.

NFL

Demario Douglas appeared to enter the doghouse following a pivotal mistake in the first quarter of the New England Patriots’ loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night.

The Patriots’ rookie wide receiver didn’t play another snap after he fumbled the ball at the end of the first quarter, getting the ball punched out of his arm by Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t pin the fumble on the reason why Douglas didn’t play the remainder of Sunday’s game.

“Yeah, we played all of our skill players,” Belichick told reporters when asked what went into the decision to stop playing Douglas after the first quarter. “They all played.”

Bradley Chubb forces the fumble! pic.twitter.com/1dcAf3J9lt
— Dolphin Nation (@Dolphin_Nation) September 18, 2023

When it was pointed out in a follow-up that Douglas didn’t play again following the fumble, Belichick reiterated that it was related to the talent of the Patriots’ skill position players.

“Look, we had a lot of production on offense,” Belichick said. “[DeVante] Parker had a good day. [Mike] Gesicki had a good day. Hunter [Henry] had a good day, JuJu [Smith-Schuster], KB [Kendrick Bourne]. So, you know, a lot of good players. Can’t play everybody.”

Belichick was asked about it for a third time. And again, the Patriots coach answered the question similarly.

“We played all of our – yeah, look, we could talk about this every week,” Belichick responded. “And there will be somebody that played less than somebody else. We’ve got a lot of skilled players.”

Douglas was effective in the brief time that he played on Sunday, recording two receptions for 19 yards in the Patriots’ first two drives. He had four receptions for 40 yards in the Patriots’ opener last week and appeared to have a growing role in New England’s offense, but that came to a halt on Sunday.

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