In the immediate aftermath of the scary injury situation involving Buffalo Bills defender Damar Hamlin, both Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and head coach Zac Taylor stood out as key nexus points of the night’s events.
Taylor, for coming across midfield after the ambulance left the field and conferring with Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Both teams then left the field and the game was ultimately postponed.
Burrow, for behind the scenes leading a group of Bengals captains to the Bills locker room to check on the players there.
Tuesday afternoon, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote about the leadership of both men and sprinkled in some confirming details about when everyone knew the game was off and that Burrow led the way:
• While his players were getting loose on the field, Taylor spotted McDermott, and walked over to him upon seeing the shaken look on his face. In the moment, the Bengals’ coach showed compassion for not only his peer but the condition of McDermott’s team. And after that, it became clear to everyone involved that no more football would be played that night.
• After the players went back to their locker rooms, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow gathered the Cincinnati captains to walk over to the Bills’ locker room to check in on the Buffalo players. There’s an unspoken code among NFL players that, due to football being such a violent game, dictates that guys take care of one another whenever they can. And this is a vivid illustration of it.
There are some amazing notes in the writeup about first responders and the steadfast leadership of McDermott and Bills quarterback Josh Allen, too.
But the focus has especially been on Taylor, who has received massive praise for crossing the field during apparent game-resuming warmups and later visiting the hospital caring for Hamlin.
For now, Bills-Bengals won’t be played this week and the NFL will make a decision on the ultimate fate of the game when the time is right. On a national stage, key Bengals showed what they were about in areas far more important than the game of football.
