Dustin Keller passes concussion test

Updated: November 6, 2011, 10:52 PM ET
By Mike Mazzeo | Special to ESPNNewYork.com

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The New York Jets have to feel a little fortunate as they head back home.

After all, not only did they pummel the Buffalo Bills, 27-11, on Sunday afternoon to improve to 5-3, they also avoided near catastrophic injuries to two of their top skill-position players.

Tight end Dustin Keller and running back Shonn Greene sustained hard hits and needed to get concussion tests, but both players said they're fine.

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The Jets were also lucky to have wide receiver Plaxico Burress in their lineup. Burress, who caught five passes for 79 yards, didn't think he was going to play on Sunday.

"I just went out and played as hard as I could," said Burress, who was limited in practice all week by lower back soreness. "The coaches have a lot of confidence in me to go out and make plays."

Burress said the training staff stayed with him the last couple of days and he did side-stretching. He was ultimately able to overcome the ailment.

Keller suffered what the team referred to as a "head injury" in the second quarter after catching an 11-yard pass from quarterback Mark Sanchez. The tight end, in an attempt to gain extra yardage even though he might have been out-of-bounds at the time, tried to vault over Buffalo cornerback Terrence McGee, but flipped high in the air and landed on his right shoulder as his head caromed off the field.

Keller looked woozy after the play and eventually walked off the field with the help of the team's medical staff. He was evaluated for a possible concussion and missed the rest of the quarter, but he returned in the second half.

"I was shaken up for a couple of seconds," Keller, who finished with four catches for 64 yards, said. "Obviously, the doctors were concerned, so they brought me in the locker room. I was pretty upset about that because I knew I was fine and I could get back in the game. They put me through all these tests, over and over and over again, which was really annoying, but obviously you have to follow NFL protocol. I passed all the tests, and I was able to come back in the second half.

"I knew (McGee) was going high, I promise you I would not have jumped. ... (Coach) Rex (Ryan) and 53 other guys told me, 'Don't ever do that again.' I'm going to try not to, but you never know what you might come up with in that last second."

Said Ryan: "He got his head smashed, but he's fine. He was a little dizzy."

Said Sanchez: "I don't know where that came from. I know (tight ends) Coach 'Dev' (Mike Devlin) can't jump that high, so he didn't learn that from him. He should never have to do that. He's gotta be careful."

Greene, who rushed for 76 yards on 19 carries, suffered his injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.

"I'm good. I got dinged up a little bit, as I started going to the sidelines I started feeling very well," Greene said. "I had to go through an evaluation, come in and stuff like that. I could've came back, but in the end though (with the score the way it was) it didn't really make sense to go out there."

Greene confirmed he had concussion tests, but when asked if he felt "OK," he responded, "yes."

In light of what happened to San Diego Chargers lineman Kris Dielman, who suffered a concussion two weeks ago when he collided with Jets linebacker Calvin Pace but remained in the game and eventually suffered a seizure on the team plane ride home, the Jets will likely be very cautious with Keller and Greene going forward.

Also on the injury front, defensive tackle Mike DeVito, who missed Sunday's game because of a sprained knee, said he was "almost ready" to go against Buffalo.

"Next week," DeVito, one of the team's top run-stuffers, said.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

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