Jets QB Mike White taken to hospital after rib injury – The Denver Post

ORCHARD PARK, NY — Jets quarterback Mike White endured a ton of punishment in the team’s 20-12 loss to the Bills on Sunday.

White left the game twice due to injury. First, Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver hit White, causing backup Joe Flacco to briefly enter the game. Then the second time, White was gone for an extended period after going to the locker room due to a rib injury he suffered after a gigantic shot from Bills linebacker Matt Milano as he threw an incomplete.

White returned, but was taken to hospital for further evaluation after the game was over.

He then joined the team and will return home with the rest of the team.

“He was brought in to be evaluated, x-rayed and everything went well,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of the decision to bring White back into the game after Milan’s hit. “We felt good and he wanted to come back.”

In his third start after the Jets benched Zach Wilson three weeks ago, White completed 27 of 44 passes for 268 yards. The Bills consistently pressured White throughout the day as he was sacked three times, and Buffalo also generated a total of 21 pressures and seven quarterback hits on White.

Ever since he was inserted as the Jets’ starting quarterback, White’s teammates have responded positively to him being under center. Last week, en route to Minnesota, several of his teammates wore “Mike F’N White” t-shirts on the plane. Then last week, during his weekly press conference with the media, running back Michael Carter and Elijah Moore both jokingly asked White questions.

On Sunday, White might have earned a different kind of respect from his teammates. The Jets were down 20-7 and close to losing, but White still wanted to get back on the court as he continued to fight until the final whistle with the team down 20-12 .

“He’s shown he’s a dog,” Zonovan “Bam” Knight said. “Anyone could tell from the moment he entered the group.

“He didn’t want to leave his team on hold. Looking at the replays of some of the hits and the fact that he’s coming back and still being able to execute, it says a lot about Mike White as a player and as the leader of this team.

Assuming White is healthy, Saleh said he’ll be the starting quarterback for the Jets’ next game against the Lions. White will be almost certain to start against the Jaguars on Dec. 22 as the Jets have two games in 10 days.

It looks increasingly like White will be the Jets’ starting quarterback for the final four games of the season. At 7-6, the Jets are battling for one of the wildcard spots in the AFC.

Gang Green entered the day as the seventh seed in the conference, one game ahead of the Chargers and Patriots. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, which is currently the NFL’s longest playoff drought.

Currently, Gang Green has lost four of its last six games and two in a row. But the team is confident it can still make a playoff run.

“We’ve believed we’ve been a playoff team for a very long time,” linebacker CJ Mosley said. “Despite the defeat of the team, despite this defeat, our state of mind has not changed.

“Our motto has not changed. We know we have two big games in 10 days. We have Detroit next weekend, so that’s the first step to making sure that happens.

“It’s a tough loss, you have to watch the movie, criticize yourself, criticize each other, improve and be ready to play next Sunday.”

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