Getty Image / Adam Glanzman
The NFL was hit with a situation it had never seen before during last Monday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.
Around 9 minutes into the game, Damar Hamlin collapsed after tackling Tee Higgins.
For the next 10 minutes, he was given CPR on the field as fans and fellow players waited to see if he would be okay.
When Hamlin was taken to the hospital, there were still questions about whether or not a football game would be played.
We now know how the story ended, with the game being suspended and eventually declared a no contest and Hamlin has thankfully regained consciousness and been able to communicate with everybody who showed him support during his ordeal.
What fans didn’t know is what exactly the decision-making process looked like when deciding to end the game.
Today, Josh Allen revealed on an episode of “Kyle Brandt’s Basement” that he was heading to the Bengals locker room with center Mitch Morse to tell the Bengals they couldn’t continue to play. At the same time, Joe Burrow and the Bengals were heading to the Bills locker room to tell them the same thing.
.@JoshAllenQB describes the moment the Bills captains went to tell the Bengals that they couldn't resume last Monday night's game… only to realize that Joe Burrow and the Bengals were on their way to tell them the same thing.
🔗: https://t.co/25bCCxNSV1 pic.twitter.com/ZDjORHsPNU
— Kyle Brandt’s Basement (@KBBasement) January 10, 2023
Believe it or not, I had told my coaching staff I was going to go with [center and captain] Mitch Morse over to their locker room and just tell them ‘Hey guys, we can’t continue. As we were walking out, they were 30 steps away from our locker room, so they were thinking the same thing.
I really appreciate how they handled that situation as well. Obviously talking with Joe and all the Bengals captains, they were in unison with us and obviously understood the severity of the situation.
Both of these teams clearly understood that what was happening last Monday night went well beyond football and they handled this situation with a ton of class.