Bills-Bengals Game Officially Suspended After Demar Hamlin Injury

The NFL has temporarily suspended a “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals following an injury to Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin.

Hamlin, 24, collapsed on the field and was attended to for north of 20 minutes after making a tackle in the first quarter. Joe Danneman of Fox19 in Cincinnati reported Hamlin was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center via ambulance after receiving AED and CPR on the field.

Bills and Bengals players surrounded Hamlin as he was being attended to with the majority of players shown on ESPN’s broadcast visibly shaken up. NFL officials initially ruled the game would resume following a five-minute warmup period. That was before Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with the officials, which ultimately led to the temporary suspension of the game.

According to ESPN’s broadcast, Hamlin’s mother was in attendance at Paycor Stadium and was able to ride to the hospital with him.

During the delay, Bengals captains Joe Burrow, Ted Karras and D.J. Reader all made their way to the Bills locker room to exchange handshakes and hugs with Hamlin’s teammates. ESPN’s broadcast showed both Taylor and McDermott sharing a cell phone to talk with someone regarding the situation.

At 10 p.m. ET, official word came down the NFL would postpone the remainder of the game to a later date. You can read the full statement from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell here, which includes news that Hamlin is in critical condition at UC Medical Center. The NFL community, including many New England Patriots players, rallied around Hamlin and expressed support for him in the aftermath of the injury.

The NFL is expected to announce a make up time for the game at a later date.