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Amid tragedy, childhood friends DeMario Douglas and Terrell Jennings persevere in Patriots’ win
“He was here with me today. First day in heaven — he was working.”
FOXBOROUGH — Hours ahead of kick-off between the Patriots and Falcons at Gillette Stadium, both DeMario Douglas and Terrell Jennings were operating with heavy hearts.
Douglas and Jennings — who grew up together in Jacksonville, competed against one other in Pop Warner and ultimately played on the same Mandarin High School team — both received word that someone close to them had passed away on Saturday night.
“Yesterday, my uncle was shot and killed last night,” Douglas said in an interview with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “This whole morning, my mood was different, I couldn’t hold my tears.
“He was a family friend. We call him ‘Tiger’. He was an uncle to us — Me and Pop,” Jennings added. “He took care of us when we were out with him back home. … I just wanted to ball for him.”
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Amid their heartache, both Douglas and Jennings showed out with standout games in New England’s 24-23 win over the Falcons — with both Jacksonville products scoring touchdowns in the Patriots’ sixth-straight win.
“He was with us,” Douglas said postgame. “Man, this whole morning was hard. … As people came up to me I tried to keep — I just tried to be a man. And I just had to put my head down, and I just knew he was with me and he was with Terrell too.”
Jennings — who was signed off the practice squad on Wednesday — stepped up in New England’s running-back room with Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined with a toe injury.
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Jennings gained 35 yards off of 11 rushing attempts in Sunday’s win — securing his first career NFL touchdown after punching his way into the end zone on a three-yard run in the second quarter.
“I saw the hole. As soon as I touched the end zone, I just praised the Lord,” Jennings said. “I’m thanking God in my head, like, thank you God. This is what I play the game for, to get in the end zone. My teammates being there, that made the whole experience better.”
With New England’s receiver corps hampered on Sunday after Kayshon Boutte went down with a hamstring injury, Douglas delivered as one of Drake Maye’s deep threats.
The shifty wideout set a new career-high with 100 receiving yards in the win — reeling in a touchdown in the first quarter after motioning out the backfield and snagging in a 16-yard catch from Maye.
But Douglas also helped orchestrate New England’s third touchdown of the afternoon, breaking loose for a 58-yard pickup in the second quarter where he gained a majority of his yardage after withstanding several attempted tackles.
“I stay stumbling. I don’t know what it is,” Douglas said of his impression of a pinball as he tried to tumble into the end zone.
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Just two plays after Douglas’ catch put New England on the doorstep of another score, Stefon Diggs scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown.
Beyond the emotional weight of Sunday’s game after his uncle’s death, Douglas was further fueled by the sight of seeing a longtime friend like Jennings finally get rewarded with a touchdown.
Beyond Jennings long road to the NFL as an undrafted player out of Florida A&M and his status as a practice-squad regular, Jennings also dealt with several stretches of homelessness while growing up in Florida.
“He really got out of the mud,” Douglas said of Jennings. “Like, man. And when he got in that end zone, I ain’t gonna lie, if I was mic’d up and they had the camera on me? I was out there. … It’s just — to see what he went through, and what he accomplished, and all the doubt that he went through. Man, it’s a blessing to see him here.
“I tell him every day, it’s a blessing. It’s a blessing to be here. When he was a fourth-string running back, he had his doubts. He’s like, ‘Man, what’s going on?’ I’m like, ‘Trust the process.’”
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That faith that Douglas echoed to Jennings was one born out of Douglas’ own experience in New England. Despite being a featured wideout over his first two years in Foxborough, Douglas saw his snap count and usage drop over the first few weeks of the 2025 season.
But amid those early growing pains adjusting to a new offense under Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel, Douglas has once again re-established himself as a key cog on this 7-2 Patriots roster.
“For the first two years — I was playing a lot. And this year was kind of a little lower,” Douglas explained. “And this was my ‘trust the process.’ And everything’s gonna work out. And it’s our team.
“Our team is amazing. Everybody smiles. Everybody connects with each other. It’s easy to be lifted up with this team. Our coaches come in with energy. So you better have energy too. They don’t love — no vampires. They don’t want nobody to drain you. I love this team, and I can’t wait to see how far we go.”
Amid a day that started with many tears, both Douglas and Jennings were able to leave the gridiron relishing in their shared success out on the gridiron.
And further lifted by the support of an individual who helped them reach their football dreams.
“He was here with me today,” Douglas told Wolfe. “First day in heaven — he was working.”
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