Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field Monday night during the first quarter of the Bills’ showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was transported to a local level-one trauma center where he is listed in critical condition.
After a lengthy delay in which both teams returned to their locker rooms, the NFL indefinitely postponed the Week 17 contest.
Hamlin made a tackle on Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, returned to his feet, then collapsed back to the turf. Trainers performed on-field CPR before he was loaded onto an ambulance and taken to a Cincinnati-area hospital.
Officials reportedly prodded Buffalo and the Bengals to retake the field after a five-minute break. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor conferred with Bills colleague Sean McDermott, and the game went into a broadcast delay soon after.
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2023
Both the Bills and Bengals have qualified for the AFC bracket of the 2023 NFL playoffs, though Monday night’s game would have had an effect on postseason seeding. That, of course, is of little consequence to players dealing with the fact one of their own is in critical condition.
