Less than 24 hours after the Cincinnati Bengals‘ biggest win of the season Sunday in San Francisco, the conversation turned to the upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills.
Yes, it’s the second of three playoff rematches the Bengals will face this season, but the most vivid memories this week will be less about the 27-10 Divisional Round triumph at Highmark Stadium and more about the night of Jan. 2 and the days that followed as Bills safety Damar Hamlin fought for his life.
Damar Hamlin Returns to Paycor Stadium This Week
The Bengals and Bills will be back on the national, prime-time stage Sunday night on the same Paycor Stadium field where Hamlin was brought back to life early in a Monday Night Football game that would never resume.
But it isn’t going to take Buffalo returning to Cincinnati for head coach Zac Taylor and the rest of the organization to think back on the scariest incident in NFL history and feel joy about the way things developed with Hamlin making a full recovery.
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“I think we always do. That’s not just singled down to this week,” Taylor said. “Just what we all saw and how things have turned out positive, with him back in a jersey, back out there practicing, back out there playing. I don’t think anybody saw that coming.
“That’s just an unbelievable miracle that it’s played out that way.”
Welcome back, Damar 🫶pic.twitter.com/7VSFdtn9fU
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 12, 2023
The images of stunned, teary-eyed players processing grief as medics performed CPR on Hamlin on the field will play across screens all week.
The debate about whether the league, despite its denial, tried to have the game resumed will be revisited. So will the stories of the Bengals captains visiting the Bills locker room, offering their support and willingness to do whatever they wanted, along with so many other scenes.
Those things are impossible to ignore. Anyone who watched that night on television or in the stands will never forget it, so imagine the visceral emotions of those who lived it.
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It’s hard to know what the Buffalo players will feel driving into the stadium, dressing in the locker room, and walking onto the field.
But Taylor said the Bengals are viewing Hamlin’s return as a celebratory reunion while focusing on what happened after medics resuscitated Hamlin and after he woke up three days later and asked, “Did we win?”
“It was great to see the communities come together for a really positive benefit, and it’s turned into a lot of good, and I think that’s what everybody’s thankful for,” Taylor said.
“An unbelievable miracle.”#Bengals head coach Zac Taylor comments on Damar Hamlin's upcoming return to Cincinnati.
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— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 30, 2023
Taylor was praised for the compassion and leadership he showed that night, and he said his relationship with Bills head coach Sean McDermott has grown even stronger in the 10 months since.
After the Bengals eliminated the Bills and the Chiefs eliminated the Bengals, the two coaches caught up to discuss the events of that night, and they spent some time together at the owners meetings in Arizona in March.
Their sons are similar ages, and their wives, Sarah Taylor and Janie McDermott, along with Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane’s wife, Hayley, were friends long before Jan. 2. And their connection has only grown deeper.
“A really good family that we get a chance to spend time with,” Taylor said. “When you’re at the owners meetings, you get to see everybody run around. I’ve always respected Sean, and our wives and kids are close.”
The Bengals and Bills are not planning any sort of large ceremony before Sunday’s game or at halftime. The two teams will be in contact on Tuesday to discuss whether anything will be done at all. The on-site medical staffs and the people at the University of Cincinnati Center staff all have been honored.
Hamlin may not even play. He’s only been active for one game this year.
The emotions and the memories will be present. There’s no way around that. But the focus Sunday night will be the same as it was for Hamlin in the days, weeks, and months after his scare — getting back to football.
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