The NFL has obviously had to deal with a pretty unprecedented situation this week after the collapse of Bills safety Damar Hamlin on the field.
Things are pretty scrambled for the NFL overall right now, so one can only imagine how the two teams along with their players and coaching staffs were thinking and what they’d planned on doing.
There has been some debate throughout the week on whether or not there was serious consideration from the league on continuing the game in that moment.
ESPN reported that the NFL considered giving players a 5-minute warmup session before they got back to playing, but the league has pushed back against that.
After Bengals coach Zac Taylor spoke with reporters for the first time since Monday night’s game, it’s pretty clear neither team ever intended on playing another down after what happened.
Taylor told reporters that Bills head coach Sean McDermott told him he needed to be at the hospital with Hamlin rather than coaching a game, per ESPN‘s Ben Baby.
Zac Taylor said he decided to walk over to that sideline to talk with Bills coach Sean McDermott and the officials.
Said McDermott's message was that he needed to be at the hospital and didn't need to be coaching a game.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 4, 2023
It doesn’t sound like McDermott had any intention whatsoever of returning to that game. Obviously, no one could blame him for that. And, ultimately, it was the right decision. Everyone’s focus is on Hamlin’s health — everything else comes secondary.
That’s not all Taylor had to say about the situation. He continued to give an update on how his team was doing and what they’ll be doing moving forward for Sunday.