‘Who won the game?’: NFL star Damar Hamlin gets up after collapsing on the field | NFL

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Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake and able to communicate with his medical staff after the NFL team suffered cardiac arrest on the court during a Monday night game in Cincinnati, his doctors say.

Two doctors caring for the 24-year-old told reporters Thursday that he was “showing signs of good neurological recovery” and was able to communicate in writing.

Hamlin remains on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center to help him breathe.

He collapsed on the field after making a tackle in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and had him perform CPR while on the court.

Doctors said Hamlin asked in writing who won the match. Their response was “Damar, you’ve won — you’ve won the game of life,” said Dr. Timothy Britts.

Britts said he was asking about the score of the game showing that “it’s not just that the lights are on – he’s in the house”. “All cylinders seem to be firing inside his brain, which is pretty satisfying.”

Dr. William Knight described the past three days as a long, hard road. “He was very ill and has made a fairly remarkable recovery.”

The positive update was welcome news for the Bills, as they prepare for their final regular season contest on Sunday.

An emotional Bills quarterback, Josh Allen, told reporters Thursday of receiving word that their teammate was awake and thinking about him.

“His father said the first thing he would ask when he woke up was who won the game,” Allen said. “Sure enough, that’s what he did.

“As teammates, you would love to hear that response,” Allen continued. “The first thing on his mind wasn’t ‘poor me’, it was how are my team mates doing, did we win this game, which is powerful in itself.

“We heard this news this morning and there was nothing we could have been told to stop our day.”

Doctors said the next milestone was to get Hamlin to breathe fully on his own.

They said it was too early to say if it was the injury or a pre-existing condition that caused Hamlin to go into cardiac arrest.

Asked if there was a possibility he might play professional football again, Knight told reporters, “It’s too early to have that conversation.”

Hamelin remains in critical condition and remains in the intensive care unit, he said, adding that the focus has been on getting him off the ventilator and “on the road to recovery.”

Doctors credited the medical staff at Project Bells for quickly realizing Hamlin did not have a pulse and immediately performing CPR.

“It went as well as something like this can go through under very difficult circumstances and they did an amazing job, which is why we are here today,” said Brits.

The game, in which Cincinnati led 7-3, was postponed after the injury, and the league announced late Thursday that it would not resume at all.

The Bills returned to the practice field Thursday in preparation for their crucial finale to the regular season, as they host the New England Patriots.

The Bills battle the Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs for the top seed in the NFL Conference, which comes with a first-round playoff.

“Damar’s father spoke to the team yesterday and the message was that the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals they set for themselves,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott. “I’m paraphrasing him but Dammar wanted it that way and that includes our game against New England this week.”

“Today’s news was a huge help in putting us back on the game this weekend,” added McDermott.

Fans, athletes, celebrities and politicians, including President Joe Biden, have offered Hamlin their prayers and support.

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said he hopes this incident “sends a message” to fans and the NFL community.

“Our men are not wrestlers,” said Smith. “I hope… people are aware of the humanity of this game. And yes, it’s dangerous, and yes, it’s scary — yes, it’s entertainment.”

“But I hope people understand and appreciate the sheer humanity of this game.”

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