JANUARY 3, 1:38am: The Bills announced Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. The on-field treatment restored Hamlin’s heartbeat, according to the team (on Twitter), but he remains in critical condition.
JANUARY 2, 9:37pm: Hamlin’s vitals have normalized, according to his marketing representative (on Twitter). Doctors will put him to sleep to place a breathing tube down his throat. Tests are ongoing.
9:01pm: This game will not resume tonight, according to ESPN. No resumption date has been announced. Goodell announced the postponement. Hamlin is in critical condition, according to the NFL (Twitter link).
“The NFLPA and everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin. We have been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters at this moment is Damar’s health and well being,” the union said in a statement.
8:21pm: An ambulance transported Bills safety Damar Hamlin off the field in the first quarter of Monday night’s game. Teams had been given five minutes to warm up to begin play again, but after a discussion, both squads have left the field.
Twenty-five minutes after the Hamlin injury, the game has been suspended. Medical personnel administered CPR to Hamlin, a 24-year-old in his second NFL season. Both teams gathered together around Hamlin and the ambulance as he was stretchered into the vehicle. After Sean McDermott and Zac Taylor spoke briefly, the teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
The terrifying scene began after Hamlin made a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. As Hamlin rose to his feet, he fell backward onto the turf, leading to the game’s stoppage. In addition to the application of CPR, medical staffers gave him oxygen. Hamlin is being transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Hamlin moved into Buffalo’s starting lineup earlier this season, becoming the team’s primary replacement for Micah Hyde, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in September. The Bills drafted Hamlin 212th overall out of Pittsburgh last year. He spent the first season of his pro career as a backup to Hyde and Jordan Poyer but has made 14 starts this year.
Bills officials, including McDermott and GM Brandon Beane, met with referees minutes ago, according to ESPN.com’s Alaina Getzenberg (on Twitter). If tonight’s game ends up being postponed, the NFL will make the decision. Roger Goodell will speak to the teams at some point, but that is obviously the secondary issue here after what just transpired.
That’s sucks
Prayers for that young man and his family. Sad night and a sobering reminder of how violent this game can be.
Cancel the game. Reschedule for Tuesday. Idk how you go out there without knowing his status and condition.
Buffalo already flew home.
Cancel game….both teams already in playoffs
cancel game and chiefs get #1 seed sounds like a plan to me.
There’s always one idiot
Check Twitter. There’s far more than one
Or we forgo 1st round bye during wildcard round and opt for a #8 in both AFC and NFC given the unprecedented circumstances and timing of this game possibly not being able to happen ever. You still get home field advantage throughout playoffs.
But that’s for another time right now the league teams and coaches need to make sure these players are taken care of first and foremost. Esp Hamlin and his family.
People like you (and Mahomes brother and wife) are the reason every other teams fanbase can’t stand the KC fans.
Horrible…. Prayers
Just read he has a pulse but isn’t breathing. Ugh.
Terrible. Hoping for a speedy recovery
Reminiscent of Chuck Hughes a WR from the Detroit Lions who in 1971 unfortunately died on the field. Was horrific
They cannot continue the game tonight. Prayers for Hamlin.
Praying for Hamlin to be ok. It’s a terrible thing.
Praying
Damar has been intubated and is in critical condition. How horrible.
where did you see that?
All over Twitter
So young & in shape. Take me instead of Hamlin
I’m a old unhealthy, beer drinking football fan.
Prayers for him, his family & all who love him.
As a Chiefs fan & decent human being, I speak for ALL of Chiefs Kingdom, please please recover from Hamlin!!!
Shame on the media for saying this was a “scary hit”. It was nothing of the sort. The resulting situation is scary, but it was just a normal football tackle.
Agreed. The media, As always, blowing crap out of proportion, misleading folks, and all to get headlines
Hope he is OK
But not surprised this has not happened more as of late.
I mean soccer
What a nightmare. Hoping for the best for Hamlin. Hearing about the man only makes it more gut wrenching. The fact that the league expected these guys to take a few minutes and get back on the field is a reminder that the boos for Goodell can never be enough.
Amen
Cancel the game. Give the game checks. Encourage the players to donate their checks to Hamlin family. Both teams have one less game on their record. Give both group of guys at least a few extra days; postpone week 18 games for them if necessary.
Give both teams first round byes. Give both teams the Super Bowl.
Actually at this point I don’t even care. So sad.
Thoughts and prayers…..
I didn’t see the hit, but my goodness I hope this young man is ok. The decision to cancel the game was the right call. Life is clearly and obviously more important than the game.
This might change precedent for acceptance into the NFL for people with certain conditions upon finding out why he collapsed.
Granted, this is rare. The last time I remember something this drastic was Mike Utley back in…1991? And this is worse, at least for the moment. Utley’s was life-altering, this could be it for Hamlin. Seeing dudes in uniform lying on the grass getting CPR is about as bad as it can get.
If this happened even a few times during the year, the NFL would be in serious trouble.
Yeah, and +1 for everybody for not being stupid about this.
This is football. It can happen on every play. Reality amazing it does not happen every game. Actually it is just to brain which We will not see till years later.
Which is why I stopped following the sport over 20 years ago.
I don’t need to support a sport where players are maimed and crippled by age 40 for my entertainment.
Football used to be about wrapping guys up during tackles. Most of NFL defensive players can’t do that. What’s normal today was called “dirty” in my day.
A good portion of people that watch pro football are like fans that go see auto races hoping to see a crash. And the funny thing is – the rule changes have been so pass- friendly that over 80% of NFL teams fans know they will never get to the Super Bowl with the QB they have. Teams used to be able to get there by running the ball or playing strong D or playing balanced football. Now you need a QB that passes to get there. Look at the human-challenged QB the Browns brought in and gave a kings ransom to.
The NFL is a spectacle and a money machine. It’s not a sport.
I hope Damar can fully recover and live a normal life. Prayers up for him and his family, please be good.
Definitely can not continue the game for many reasons the obvious one is the trauma of the Bills players. It will be difficult enough for the Bills to prepare for week 18. The issue then is only playoff seedings. Let them play week 18 and see if the result of this game could have made a difference. If so a coin toss may have to be done to determine playoff seedings. It may be a three way coin toss or whatever but Goodell is paid the big bucks for this.
I read some about this dnd watched a video on it. A couple hrs after the hit this Dr did a great presentation about it. So many things have to be just right for it to happen.
It happens on the upswing of the heart after a certain upswing of another type. Sorry I don’t remember the names but they were long. Anyway there is a millisecond that this hit can take place. That is why it is so rare the chances of it happening to you is almost none. I guess and hope they did the right thing and got the AED machine on him in a timely manner.
With the medical care he got if they recognized what was going on quick enough they would have shocked him close to when they arrived. They would have needed to get the AED machine out there pretty quick. The comment made about him breathing on his own but no pulse is why CPR was given.
This is a scary sight to all who love the game. They will implement a new pad that will protect the heart from this kind of blow. It will take 2-3 years with the petty arguing that will go on. Each side sees an opportunity to get something they want so each side will hold out until that happens. Neither side gives a crap about the players it is about getting their pet project passed.
Last thing if you follow that hack of a reporter Dip Clueless you should drop him. That remark about the teams need to play the game and not cancel it because there are playoff spots at place is heartless infuriating and plain disgusting. The game is more than a game it is about a man’s life. If they don’t play the game and count it as a tie is the best outcome. But to want to play over the fact that a man’s life was in danger is cold and cruel. Especially after seeing the men crying. That is one thing Dip will never get the commradery of men playing for each other. This though for me is a hill too far. He needs to be fired and not get another job. Go do podcasts so the heartless who agree with you can still listen to your crap.
who is dip clueless?
is this situation so rare that over the last 50 years football has been played at an amateur and pro level it hasnt been a regular thing? nobody is going to argue about a pad you can’t see so dont worry about that but people might start to notice more things if this begins happening twice a year.
They won’t wear an extra pad anyway, most don’t even wear what they are required to. This is a man absolute freak thing that may have never occurred in football previously. No thigh pads, no knee pads, pants pulled up like long shorts despite far greater chances of helmets hitting unprotected knees and shredding them.