The NFL’s marquee game of the weekend featured one of its scarier on-field moments in the league’s history on Monday Night. With seemingly the entire nation watching the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals battle in the first quarter, Bills safety Damar Hamlin made what looked like a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. What happened next caused every fan in the stadium to hold their breath and some players on the field to break down sobbing on the field.
Hamlin took a couple of steps backward, then collapsed to the turf. The Bills’ medical and training personnel sprinted to the field to work on Hamlin, who had gone into cardiac arrest. CPR was administered to the 24-year-old for multiple minutes, and oxygen was given to the player, potentially saving his life.
An ambulance was brought onto the field. He was taken out of the stadium and driven to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, a level-one trauma center, arriving roughly 16 minutes after he collapsed.
The chilling incident played out in real-time, with ESPN announcers somberly trying to describe an event they had very little information on. Players on both teams formed circles to pray for Hamlin, and the emotional scene literally sucked every ounce of energy out of the stadium as shocked players and fans tried to process what had happened.
Currently, Hamlin is in the hospital listed in critical condition, but the team said he is sedated, and hopefully, the worst part is behind him.
Players for the Bills were visibly shaken, and several went to the hospital to check on their teammate, including star receiver Stefan Diggs. The entire Buffalo team flew back to upstate New York shortly after midnight.
After deliberation and discussion, the league postponed the game as they sort through scenarios to try and find the time to resume it.
Here’s part of a statement from the league.
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association, which is in agreement with postponing the game.”
After Hamlin left the field, it had looked like play might resume, but the coach for the Bengals, Zac Taylor, walked across the field to talk with his counterpart Shawn McDermott, and they collectively decided to put the game on pause for a beat to let the players try to get their minds right after such shocking scene.
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