ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Three weeks ago, they were family, bonded together by a singular and powerful cause: the well-being of Damar Hamlin.
On Jan. 2 at Cincinnati, in probably the most anticipated games of the season, the players and coaches from the Bills and Bengals hugged and knelt in prayer together when the Buffalo safety fell frighteningly into cardiac arrest after making what gave the impression to be a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
The Bills and Bengals players and coaches made the choice together to halt the sport after Hamlin went down and needed to be administered CPR on the sector to save lots of his life — no matter whether the sport could be resumed, replayed or canceled altogether, and nevertheless the postseason seeding implications could also be altered.
The one thing that mattered on that night was Hamlin’s safety and recovery.
There was much healing since that scary night, in each Buffalo and Cincinnati.
Thankfully — and maybe miraculously — Hamlin is on what appears to be a hugely positive and regular road to recovery. Since he was released from the Cincinnati hospital, where he lay in a medically induced coma for a few days after the sport, Hamlin has returned home to Buffalo and has been making regular visits to the Bills’ facility to see his teammates and coaches.
Though nothing has been announced, there’s at the least a likelihood that Hamlin shall be within the stadium Sunday. If that happens, the healing will take one other dramatic and powerful step forward.
And though the Bills and Bengals players who were on that field together on that fateful night will ceaselessly be bonded, all of that shall be placed on a back burner for 3 hours starting at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium, where they play one another within the AFC divisional playoff with a berth into the AFC Championship game within the balance.
The Bills had their cathartic moment once they played the Patriots within the regular-season finale at Highmark on an emotionally charged Sunday two weeks ago. Their victory in that game clinched the No. 2 seed within the AFC postseason and home-field advantage for the sport Sunday.
The Bills imagine they’ve grow to be strengthened by the Hamlin experience and the positive fallout that’s come along with his remarkable recovery.
“I feel it gives you a more sturdy foundation,’’ quarterback Josh Allen told reporters this week. “The more struggle, the more adversity that you would be able to see over the course of the 12 months, it just makes you stronger. We’ve been in some really weird situations this 12 months that not a variety of teams perhaps have ever passed through. Having the ability to have that under our belts, understand those emotions in those situations, and just try to make use of it to our advantage.”
It has, indeed, been a trying 12 months in Buffalo. The realm has been dealt two deadly winter storms that cost dozens of lives and disrupted the football schedule and a racist shooting at a supermarket last May that left 10 people dead. The team also endured the death of tight end Dawson Knox’s younger brother Luke in August.
The Hamlin scare was something that might have broken Buffalo … except it’s just about not possible to interrupt Buffalo, which prides itself on its relentless resilience.
Hamlin’s story struck a large emotional chord across the country and had a profound effect on individuals who hadn’t even heard of him before.
“There was a rallying together,” Cincinnati center Ted Karras said. “The entire entire country was united — more unity than I’ve seen in a protracted time. Everybody was watching that game. That was the largest game of the 12 months as much as that time, ‘Monday Night Football,’ the complete universe watching.
“The cities are very similar — very passionate fan bases, care about football, care about their players, very knowledgeable fan bases. I used to be glad to see two cities could really come together in prayer and donations and all forms of support for the Bills organization and Damar and his family. I’m sure we’ll have a variety of Cincy travelers [at the game Sunday]. It’s going to be a variety of fun. Big playoff matchup.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he believes the teams “will at all times be connected through’’ the Hamlin experience.
“To see Damar getting healthier as time passes and see where it has ended up, there’s at all times going to be a robust connection between those two organizations,’’ Taylor said. “And that’s an excellent thing.”
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Three weeks ago, they were family, bonded together by a singular and powerful cause: the well-being of Damar Hamlin.
On Jan. 2 at Cincinnati, in probably the most anticipated games of the season, the players and coaches from the Bills and Bengals hugged and knelt in prayer together when the Buffalo safety fell frighteningly into cardiac arrest after making what gave the impression to be a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
The Bills and Bengals players and coaches made the choice together to halt the sport after Hamlin went down and needed to be administered CPR on the sector to save lots of his life — no matter whether the sport could be resumed, replayed or canceled altogether, and nevertheless the postseason seeding implications could also be altered.
The one thing that mattered on that night was Hamlin’s safety and recovery.
There was much healing since that scary night, in each Buffalo and Cincinnati.
Thankfully — and maybe miraculously — Hamlin is on what appears to be a hugely positive and regular road to recovery. Since he was released from the Cincinnati hospital, where he lay in a medically induced coma for a few days after the sport, Hamlin has returned home to Buffalo and has been making regular visits to the Bills’ facility to see his teammates and coaches.
Though nothing has been announced, there’s at the least a likelihood that Hamlin shall be within the stadium Sunday. If that happens, the healing will take one other dramatic and powerful step forward.
And though the Bills and Bengals players who were on that field together on that fateful night will ceaselessly be bonded, all of that shall be placed on a back burner for 3 hours starting at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium, where they play one another within the AFC divisional playoff with a berth into the AFC Championship game within the balance.
The Bills had their cathartic moment once they played the Patriots within the regular-season finale at Highmark on an emotionally charged Sunday two weeks ago. Their victory in that game clinched the No. 2 seed within the AFC postseason and home-field advantage for the sport Sunday.
The Bills imagine they’ve grow to be strengthened by the Hamlin experience and the positive fallout that’s come along with his remarkable recovery.
“I feel it gives you a more sturdy foundation,’’ quarterback Josh Allen told reporters this week. “The more struggle, the more adversity that you would be able to see over the course of the 12 months, it just makes you stronger. We’ve been in some really weird situations this 12 months that not a variety of teams perhaps have ever passed through. Having the ability to have that under our belts, understand those emotions in those situations, and just try to make use of it to our advantage.”
It has, indeed, been a trying 12 months in Buffalo. The realm has been dealt two deadly winter storms that cost dozens of lives and disrupted the football schedule and a racist shooting at a supermarket last May that left 10 people dead. The team also endured the death of tight end Dawson Knox’s younger brother Luke in August.
The Hamlin scare was something that might have broken Buffalo … except it’s just about not possible to interrupt Buffalo, which prides itself on its relentless resilience.
Hamlin’s story struck a large emotional chord across the country and had a profound effect on individuals who hadn’t even heard of him before.
“There was a rallying together,” Cincinnati center Ted Karras said. “The entire entire country was united — more unity than I’ve seen in a protracted time. Everybody was watching that game. That was the largest game of the 12 months as much as that time, ‘Monday Night Football,’ the complete universe watching.
“The cities are very similar — very passionate fan bases, care about football, care about their players, very knowledgeable fan bases. I used to be glad to see two cities could really come together in prayer and donations and all forms of support for the Bills organization and Damar and his family. I’m sure we’ll have a variety of Cincy travelers [at the game Sunday]. It’s going to be a variety of fun. Big playoff matchup.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he believes the teams “will at all times be connected through’’ the Hamlin experience.
“To see Damar getting healthier as time passes and see where it has ended up, there’s at all times going to be a robust connection between those two organizations,’’ Taylor said. “And that’s an excellent thing.”
