There was promising news on the Demar Hamlin situation Thursday, a day we heard from his doctors in Cincinnati, Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and also Bills coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen.
An update we were all hoping for. ❤️💙
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 5, 2023
Hamlin has begun to communicate in writing with his family and others who have been at his bedside since he went into cardiac arrest Monday — and his first question was “Did we win?” his doctors said Thursday.
“The answer is yes, Demar, you won. You’ve won the game of life.” Dr. Timothy Pritts said in a conference call with reporters from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Hamlin remains critically ill and in the hospital’s intensive care unit, but he began to wake up Wednesday night, and it appears his neurological function is intact, meaning he can follow commands and move, Pritts said.
“He still has significant progress he needs to make, but this marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care,” the doctor said.
“His first question that he wrote when he started to awaken was, ’Did we win?′” Pritts said. “So we know that it’s not only that the lights are on. We know that he’s home. And it appears that all the cylinders are firing within his brain, which is greatly gratifying for all of us.”
That was a relief to the Bills, who took that as a good sign as they continued preparations for Sunday's still-scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff against the Patriots.
“We heard the news today, and there’s nothing that could be told to us that could bring our day down,” Allen said. “We just want to love up on him.”
Do the Buffalo Bills feel ready to play a football game in 3 days?
Josh Allen: "I do."
Sean McDermott: "I do as well."
Both say Hamlin's improvement and his father, Mario, saying Damar would want them to get back to focusing on their goals have helped.
“I feel strongly — as Mario, his Dad, mentioned to us — this is what Damar would’ve wanted and wants," McDermott said. "And this is my opinion and my take on it, we owe that to Damar. We owe that to his family.”
Said Allen: "Mario [was] talking to the team, and the things he told to us — he demanded us — you can’t not honor his request to go out there and charge forward to the best of our abilities. Obviously we’ll be playing with less heavy hearts now. Today’s news brought us tears of joy. But to know that that’s what he wants, that’s what his dad wants, I think guys are excited to get out there.”
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Belichick recounted his experience when Detroit Lions player Reggie Brown needed cardio pulmonary resuscitation after making a tackle against the New York Jets on Dec. 21, 1997. Belichick was defensive coordinator of the Jets at the time.
"When I saw the situation, it reminded me very much of one that I experienced when I was with the Jets in 1997," Belichick said. "We played the Lions in the last game of the year. Reggie Brown was injured. It was kind of a normal play. Adrian Murrell carried the ball, got tackled, everybody got up and went back to the huddle. Reggie laid on the field and didn’t move and was unconscious for quite awhile, 10 minutes something like that. And the whole process took a long time. It must have taken a half-hour by the time he finally was given CPR and revived and then put on the board and put on the ambulance and driven off the field at the Silverdome.
"It was quite a lengthy process where the teams looked very much like the game Monday night. Concern, thought and prayer and kneeling and so forth. It was a very chilling game, one that I’ll obviously never forget. There have been a lot of games, but there’s some that just – it’s a moment that sticks out. Fortunately, Reggie has done pretty well with the emergency surgery they did and with the brace that he wears, he’s not wheelchair-bound and I know he’s active in the Houston area, in youth sports and things like that. A great guy, great player, a first-round draft pick"
Brown suffered a spinal cord contusion. Emergency surgery was successful and prevented him from being paralyzed.
"It was very tragic scene – not that I have all the answers because I certainly don’t – but I was there and experienced that and I think have some sense of what the players teams coaches went through Monday night. It’s something that you never forget."
The Patriots held their second practice of the week on Thursday, and they saw Marcus Jones and Jonnu Smith return from concussions.
"On behalf of our entire team and organization, I’ve extended our thoughts and prayers to the Bills, their organization, coach (Sean) McDermott, their team and also to Coach (Zac) Taylor and the Bengals," Belichick said.
"Life’s bigger than this gam. It’s one of these humbling moments for all of us that stands out. I’d say as a coach, it’s different, and I’ve expressed this to the players multiple times. But the amount of respect that I have for them and what they do and how they do it is immense. I’m proud to coach the players that I’ve coached here and everywhere else.”
Belichick said he has relied on the leadership of his captains, but also former players on the coaching staff, Jerod Mayo and Troy Brown.
"We have great leadership on this team," Belichick said. "I would say two people in particular that – as I said, I have a ton of respect for all the players I've coached and what they do. Two players in particular that carry a lot of weight with me are two staff members, Troy [Brown] and Jerod [Mayo]. They've played the game at this level, I haven't. They've lived a life of a professional football player at a very, very, very high level. Both from a training, maturity, performance, longevity, all of the above. Their input and guidance has been especially valuable. Again, along with many other people that I've talked to. But in particular, they're here and I think in terms of our staff, our team, they have a great perspective on. It's been very valuable to me, let's put it that way. But along with the captains, Devin, Matt, Bent [Ja'Whaun Bentley], [Deatrich] Wise [Jr.], Mac [Jones], D. A. [David Andrews]. I mean all of them but many other leaders on our team as well."
The Patriots themselves are also feeling their way through the situation.
"I think listening to Devin [McCourty], there’s been a lot of really good conversations," said QB Mac Jones. "It’s been tough for everybody, players, coaches. You just think about him in his position and we all just want him to be okay. At the end of the day, it’s all about conversations and coming together and just not taking anything for granted. That’s every day, coming to work and trying to have a positive attitude and just coming together and praying and doing all those things. There’s a game on our mind, but there’s also a lot bigger things than football itself. We’re definitely still feeling it and we feel for him and his family and all that. Just trying to do everything we can to prepare, but at the same time, we’re all there for him.
"I think it’s a big game. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of respect for the team we’re going against and obviously, in the situation that they’re in, it’s just being there for them however we can and we’ve done that all week. Obviously, on the game, there’s a lot of emotions flying. That’s every game, but obviously this game, very much so, too. Really just trying to accept all the emotions and just be there for their team and whatever we’re going to do and all that. When the kickoff starts, you kind of just have to go out there and play and compete against a really good team. It all revolves around him and just being there for him in whatever way we can."
As for the AFC playoff seeding, The AP has reported Bengals-Bills will not be resumed. PFT reported the competition committee is meeting now to determine how the league moves forward.
NFL OWNERS TO VOTE ON PLAYOFF SEEDING, WHICH INCLUDES POSSIBLE NEUTRAL SITE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
CLUBS TO CONSIDER NEUTRAL SITE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The NFL announced today that the Week 17 Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals game will not be resumed and has been cancelled.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed all clubs of his decision earlier today, after speaking with the Bills, the Bengals and NFL Players Association leadership.
“This has been a very difficult week,” Goodell said. “We continue to focus on the recovery of Damar Hamlin and are encouraged by the improvements in his condition as well as the tremendous outpouring of support and care for Damar and his family from across the country. We are also incredibly appreciative of the amazing work of the medical personnel and commend each and every one of them.”
Among the key factors in arriving at this decision:
- Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.
- It would require postponing the start of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 clubs that qualify for postseason play.
- Making the decision prior to Week 18 is consistent with our competitive principles and enables all clubs to know the playoff possibilities prior to playing the final weekend of regular season games.
Cancelling the game between the Bills and Bengals creates potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios. In an effort to mitigate those inequities, NFL clubs will consider tomorrow in a Special League Meeting a resolution recommended by the Commissioner and approved today by the Competition Committee, consisting of two elements:
1. The AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the number one seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season. Those circumstances involve Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the game as a road team and are listed below:
Scenario 1
Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
Scenario 2
Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
Scenario 3
Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins – a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
2. If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18 it will have defeated Cincinnati, a divisional opponent, twice but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.
If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs are schedule to play a Wild Card game against one another, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss. If Cincinnati wins the Week 18 game or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play one another in the Wild Card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures.
“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”
As far as Patriots-Bills, there's a lot at stake for both teams. Even if the Chiefs win Saturday, a loss to the Patriots could drop the Bills to the 3 seed (if Cincy beats Ravens, also in a 1 p.m. game).
For the Patriots, it's win and in.
OR, they need the Jets to beat the Dolphins, Browns to beat the Steelers, and Jaguars to beat the Titans.