The Buffalo pro is showing “remarkable improvements” on the field after suffering cardiac arrest, his club said. The NFL has decided how to deal with the canceled game.
The NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills will not be continued or repeated after the drama surrounding Bills professional Damar Hamlin. This was announced by the North American Football League on Thursday (local time). The game was stopped on Monday (local time) when the Bengals were 7-3 after Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field and had to be resuscitated.
“It’s been a very difficult week. We remain focused on Damar Hamlin’s recovery and are encouraged by his improved health,” said NFL boss Roger Goodell. Hamlin, 24, remains in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital of Cincinnati but has now woken up. He has “shown notable improvements” over the past 24 hours and appears to be “neurologically fine,” the Bills said on Thursday. His lungs would also continue to heal and he was making steady progress, it said. The NFL defender is still in critical condition.
Franchise owners vote on scenarios
The NFL explained its decision not to continue the game with the fact that the Bengals and Bills already qualified for the playoffs, among other things. In addition, if the game had continued, the start of the finals would have had to be postponed, which would have affected all 14 playoff teams. The last main round game day of the NFL will take place next weekend, and the playoffs will begin on January 14th.
The Bills and Bengals will only have played 16 regular-season games instead of 17. In order to defuse “potential injustices” in the table, the NFL has developed various scenarios that the team owners will vote on Friday. Accordingly, the game for the title in the AFC will be played at a neutral location under certain conditions.
The best team in the two conferences receives a bye in the first playoff round. In the AFC, the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs still have the chance to have the best record of the main round. The Bengals, meanwhile, have secured their division title after the game was abandoned.