Buffalo defensive back Damar Hamlin was in critical condition early Tuesday after the Bills say he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field following a tackle hours earlier, leading to the indefinite postponement of Buffalo’s pivotal Monday night showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills said in a statement: “Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”
In a chilling scene, Hamlin was administered CPR on the field, ESPN reported, while surrounded by teammates, some of them in tears, while they shielded him from public view. He was hurt while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins on a seemingly routine play that didn't appear unusually violent.
The NFL announced Hamlin's condition shortly after he was taken to a hospital, but neither the league nor the hospital released any other details about the 24-year-old's medical condition. The team's statement was released before its flight arrived back in Buffalo early Tuesday. There was no immediate update about the future status of the game.
On the play the 6-foot, 200-pound Hamlin was injured, Higgins led with his right shoulder, which hit the defensive back in the chest. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins' shoulders and helmet to drag him down. Hamlin quickly got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward about three seconds later and lay motionless.
Hamlin was treated on the field by team and independent medical personnel and local paramedics, and he was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Teammate Stefon Diggs later joined Hamlin at the hospital.
About 100 Bills fans and a few Bengals fans gathered on a corner one block from the emergency room entrance, some of them holding candles.
Jeff Miller, an NFL executive vice president, told reporters on a conference call early Tuesday that the league had made no plans at this time to play the game, adding that Hamlin's health was the main focus.
An ambulance was on the field four minutes after Hamlin collapsed while many players embraced, including quarterbacks Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.
“Please pray for our brother,” Allen tweeted.
Hamlin collapsed at 8:55 p.m., and when he was taken off the field about 19 minutes later in what seemed like an eternity, the Bills gathered in prayer. A few minutes after the ambulance left the field, the game was suspended, and players walked off the field slowly and into their locker rooms where they awaited word on Hamlin and the game.
“I’ve never seen anything like it since I was playing,” NFL executive Troy Vincent, a six-time Pro Bowl cornerback during his career, said in the conference call early Tuesday morning. “Immediately, my player hat went on, like, how do you resume playing after seeing a traumatic event in front of you?”
Hamlin’s uniform was cut off as he was attended to by medical personnel. ESPN reported on its telecast that Hamlin was also given oxygen.
Vincent said the league took no steps toward restarting the game and did not ask players to begin a five-minute warmup period as ESPN's broadcasters had announced.
“It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play," Vincent said. "That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. That’s not a place we should ever be in.”
Vincent said the Bills were returning early Tuesday morning to the team facility in Orchard Park, New York, with the exception of a few players who stayed behind with Hamlin.
There was a heavy police presence at Buffalo Niagara International Airport when the team arrived at about 2:45 a.m. A small group of fans gathered across the street from the players' parking area near the airport. Police blocked off the road to allow the players to leave.
The Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of a game between teams vying for the top playoff seed in the AFC. Cincinnati entered at 11-4 and leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.
“The NFLPA and everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin,” the players' union said in a statement. “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 unfinished game has major playoff implications as the NFL enters the final week of the regular season, with the wild-card playoff round scheduled to begin on Jan. 14.
The aftermath of the injury was reminiscent of when Bills tight end Kevin Everett lay motionless on the field after making a tackle on the second-half opening kickoff in Buffalo’s 2007 season-opening game against the Denver Broncos.
Everett sustained a spinal cord injury that initially left him partially paralyzed.
Hamlin spent five years of college at Pittsburgh — his hometown — and appeared in 48 games for the Panthers over that span. He was a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior, was voted a team captain and was picked to play in the Senior Bowl.
He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year once Micah Hyde was lost for the season to injury.
By late Monday night, a community toy drive organized by Hamlin had surged to more than $1.2 million in donations. His stated goal was $2,500.
Kathryn Bersani and her mother, Gayle, were among the Bills fans who traveled from Buffalo for the game and went to the hospital from the stadium.
“This is our family Christmas,” Kathryn Bersani said. "We thought it would be a great game. Joe (Burrow) and Josh (Allen) are such great men. Sad, sad time. Such a shock. I just hope he can live a normal life. It stunned us.”
Chuck and Janet Kohl went to the hospital after watching the game at home.
“This is much more important than football,” Chuck Kohl said. “Had to come and pray for Mr. Hamlin.”
Entering the game, Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles, and 1 1/2 sacks.
A tweet from the Pitt football account was simple and clear: “Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, 3,” the tweet said, referring to Hamlin by his college jersey number. “Praying for you.”
NBA
Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots, sparked a big bench celebration with a one-handed follow slam after he finally missed and scored 27 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs 139-103 for their 12th straight victory. Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists for the Nets, who have ridden the longest winning in the NBA this season to within a game of Boston for the best record in the league. Brooklyn has won 16 of its last 17 games.
Julius Randle had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 102-83 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday in New York. Jalen Brunson, who returned after missing three games with a sore right hip, scored 24 points. Immanuel Quickley scored 15 points, Quentin Grimes had 12 and Mitchell Robinson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks. Deandre Ayton led Phoenix with 12 points. Chris Paul had 11 and Mikal Bridges added 10. The Suns lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Philadelphia downed New Orleans 120-111.
Donovan Mitchell set a Cleveland record with 71 points, most by an NBA player in 17 years, and the Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime. Mitchell’s total matched the eighth-highest in league history and marked the most points by any player since Lakers great Kobe Bryant had 81 against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962. Mitchell scored 13 points in the extra period after forcing OT by grabbing his own intentionally missed free throw and making a circus shot with three seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 130.
Kevon Looney tipped in the game-winner on his own offensive rebound as the final buzzer sounded in the second overtime after missing moments before, Klay Thompson scored a season-best 54 points, and the Golden State Warriors held off the Atlanta Hawks 143-141.Trae Young tied the game on a layup with 8.2 seconds remaining before the Warriors’ final chance. Young made four crucial free throws late in the first OT and finished with 30 points and 14 assists. Looney had a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 14 points and five assists. Draymond Green made his only 3-point attempt of the game with 43.8 seconds left in the last OT and finished with 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
NHL
Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the third period with just over two minutes remaining and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for Boston, which is 8-0-3 in its last 11 games. As the ‘home’ team, the Bruins improved their home record to 19-0-3 this season. Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Penguins and Casey DeSmith made 19 saves in relief of Tristan Jarry, who left with an apparent injury late in the first period. Playing on an unseasonably warm day with temperatures in the 40s early in the game, the Bruins won for the fourth time in the NHL’s 14th annual showcase.
Philadelphia beat Anaheim 4-1.
Vegas got by Colorado 3-2.
Cotton Bowl
Tulane tight end Alex Bauman caught a 6-yard touchdown from Michael Pratt with 9 seconds left to finish off a frantic finish by the 14th-ranked Green Wave in a 46-45 win over No. 8 Southern California in the Cotton Bowl. Bauman’s contested catch was part of 16 points in the final 4:07 for the Green Wave. The game-winning touchdown by the true freshman came after they got the ball back following a safety. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams was 37-for-52 passing for 462 yards and a Cotton Bowl-record five touchdowns for USC, which finished 11-3. Tyjae Spears ran for 205 yards and a career-best four touchdowns for Tulane. The American Athletic Conference champions finished 12-2, an FBS-record 10-win turnaround after going 2-10 last season.
ReliaQuest Bowl
Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game's last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It was the Bulldogs’ first game since coach Mike Leach died on Dec. 12 due to complications from a heart condition. Banks’ score came on Illinois’ fifth lateral following a completed pass after the Fighting Illini got the ball at their own 29. Will Rogers was 29 of 44 yards for 261 yards for Mississippi State. It was an emotional game full of tributes to Leach, who led the program for three years.
Citrus Bowl
Malik Nabers threw for a touchdown, caught one and had 163 yards receiving in No. 16 LSU’s 63-7 rout of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl. LSU never trailed against the Boilermakers, recording 594 yards of offense and concluding the scoring with Quad Wilson’s 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Tigers finished with at least 10 wins for the first time since the 2019 season, when Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson led undefeated LSU to a national title. The Boilermakers were led by interim coach Brian Brohm after his brother, Jeff, left at the end of the regular season to take Louisville’s head coaching job.
Rose Bowl
No. 9 Penn State rallied past No. 7 Utah 35-21 in the 109th edition of the Rose Bowl. Nicholas Singleton broke a tiebreaking 87-yard touchdown run and KeAndre Lambert-Smith had the longest touchdown reception in Rose Bowl history on an 88-yard pass from Sean Clifford. Clifford passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive farewell to Penn State, and Singleton rushed for 120 yards and two more scores on a day of spectacular big plays by the Nittany Lions. Two-time Pac-12 champion Utah couldn’t rally with quarterback Cameron Rising sidelined by a second-half injury.
PELE
Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it’s hard to imagine modern soccer or Brazil without him. The soccer great who died last week will be buried Tuesday in the city of Santos where he grew up, became famous and helped turn into a global soccer capital. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before Pelé’s casket is ushered through the streets of Santos to a cemetery. Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to come to Vila Belmiro shortly before the coffin is removed from the stadium. Lula was sworn in for a third term Sunday.
