The NFL announced on Thursday night that the Week 17 game between the Bills and the Bengals had been canceled and will not continue until Damar Hamlin recovered completely.
The game on Monday had been suspended with just six minutes left in the very first quarter when the safety for the Bills, Damar Hamlin, went into a cardiac arrest after completing a tackle.
Fortunately, his heartbeat was restored on the field itself- before he was moved to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, stated that this had been a pretty difficult week for everyone. The league was currently focused on the recovery of the athlete and was quite encouraged with the development so far. The NFL also commended the medical personnel for the work that they had done.
Damar Hamlin Has Been Recovering Pretty Assuredly
Doctors went on to mention that Damar Hamlin had been showing some substantial improvement- which also included communication through writing- as well as movement in his hands and feet- though he still remained critically ill.
The NFL, in their decision to cancel the game, went on to cite a couple of key factors- the outcome would have absolutely no bearing on which teams would be qualifying for the postseason. The game would also alter the schedule for all the remaining teams- and playing the game would also allow the clubs to understand the postseason possibilities before Week 18 began.
When the game was stopped after Damar Hamlin collapsed, the Cincinnati Bengals had been leading the game with a score of 7-3. The officials from the league have maintained that there are absolutely no plans for continuing the game after the athlete collapsed. Buffalo entered the 17th week in a position of a deadlock with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the AFC but also held the head-to-head tiebreaker.