Monday Night Football Cancelled after Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin Collapses on Field – CNET [CNET]

The game has been abandoned after a first quarter injury to the Buffalo Bills safety.

The Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals has been called off after a horrifying injury to Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

Hamlin, 24, made a tackle on Bengals player Tee Higgins at 5:55 p.m. PT. After the play, he stood up briefly, before falling backwards onto the turf. Hamlin was given immediate medical attention on the field, including CPR. He was taken taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center by ambulance at 6:25 p.m. PT. He is currently in a critical condition.

The NFL announced the game would be postponed for the evening. 

Hamlin’s tackle on Higgins occurred with six minutes to play in the first quarter. The tackle seemed to land right in Hamlin’s chest and neck area but he was able to stand briefly after the play was over. He was barely able to take a step before he then collapsed onto the ground. Medical staff were immediately at his side. Buck noted during the ESPN broadcast that medical personnel were “really pounding on his chest” as they administered CPR.

Players from both teams were clearly distraught in the wake of the injury and formed a wall around Hamlin, the local paramedics and medical staff. Teams were originally told there would be a five minute break in play but returned to the locker rooms. The NFL called the game off shortly after 7 p.m. PT.

A further update was provided by Jordon Rooney, who noted Hamlin’s vitals were back to normal in a tweet posted at 7:32 p.m. PT.

Update on Damar:

His vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat. They are currently running tests.

We will provide updates as we have them.

— Jordon Rooney (@jordonr) January 3, 2023

In the wake of the injury, fans have been contributing to a GoFundMe established by Hamlin and the Chasing M Foundation for a toy drive, leaving messages of support. The fundraiser has accumulated more than $500,000 since Hamlin left the field of play on Monday.