ORCHARD PARK, New York – Damar Hamlin is back on his feet, and that’s uplifting enough to allow coach Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills to focus on their immediate future instead of an emotional past as they prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to receive in an AFC divisional playoff.
About three weeks from now, the Bills — and, for that matter, the Bengals — have canceled their game after Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati, taking comfort from the remarkable safety recovery.
“I think the guys are in a good place,” McDermott said Wednesday in noting that Hamlin has made regular visits this week at the Bills facility.
“As he continues to improve I think that certainly helps,” added McDermott. “We will take this experience with us, and that is a challenge. But a lot of good things have come out of it too. And I think right now we have to focus on the positive.”
The positive aspects are numerous and start with Hamlin back home a week after discharge from the hospital. There’s also the outpouring of support Hamlin received after his sudden collapse.
and McDermott believes in the passage of time — and the opportunity to return to the field over the following two weekends — helped ease any emotional lag he and his players felt.
“I shared this with my kids on Sunday after the New England game because it gave me a chance to slow down,” McDermott said after a season-ending 35-23 win over the Patriots two weeks ago.
“If you can go 48 years through your life and not really have an experience like that, and then that happens, you know that God is real,” he added. “And you know that in prayer there is power and miracles happen.”
McDermott said Hamlin doesn’t attend team meetings, but instead takes what he calls “one small step at a time” to reestablish a normal routine by “just dipping his toe back here and heading out to just.” to come back to yourself.”
The mood this week in Cincinnati was similarly optimistic after the Bengals were also left stunned by the sight of Hamlin collapsing after making what appeared to be a routine tackle on receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter.
“To see Damar get healthier over time and where it ended up, there’s always going to be a strong connection between those two organizations and that’s a good thing,” coach Zac Taylor.
Now it’s about two teams who came together on the pitch and in the dressing rooms during a time of crisis, agreeing that Week 17 play could not continue and essentially picking up where they left off . Instead of keeping the AFC’s top seed in limbo like it should be on Jan. 2, the stakes are even higher.
“It means a ticket to the AFC Championship is at stake. That’s what this game means and I don’t think more needs to be said about that,” said Bengals center Ted Karras. “It was shocking circumstances that happened while they were here. I’m glad that everything worked out great. … Now it’s a win-or-go home scenario.”
It’s a little more personal for the Bills, but center Mitch Morse believes the team can move on.
“Exponentially, yes, it helps. There’s a lot of delay in seeing him and having conversations,” Morse said of Hamlin’s interactions with his teammates. “I think a few guys are still coming down emotionally like they’re catching up on their rest and stuff. For me personally, I can only speak for myself, something has settled down.”
Bill’s safety Jordan Poyer looks forward to the challenge.
“I don’t think it should be any different than any other game we’ve played in,” Poyer said. “Two really good teams who want to win. It’s the playoffs. So we expect a really great atmosphere and look forward to the opportunity.”
The only issue both teams face is game planning and whether they should take a similar approach to what they did three weeks ago. The Bills had only one possession that ended in a field goal. The Bengals, who led 7-3 on Joe Burrow’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd, were on their second offensive series and were leading 7-3 when the game was called off.
“I think you have to be careful not to dig too much and try to uncover this or that because we spent a lot of time before our last game,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “You have to be careful not to think about it too much, analyze it too much and give too much to the players and you end up not playing your best football.”
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AP sportswriter Mitch Stacy from Cincinnati contributed to this report.
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