NFL player Damar Hamlin was not breathing on his own but had a pulse before being transported to the hospital. He’s now hospitalized and in critical condition.
At 8:55 p.m. ET, Hamlin tackled the Bengals' wide receiver, Tee Higgins, got up, took a step, and fell over.
Hamlin was given CPR on the field for several minutes, and ABC cut to commercial multiple times.
The game was temporarily suspended and players returned to the locker rooms after Hamlin was taken off the field in a stretcher.
Hamlin left the stadium in an ambulance at 9.25 p.m. ET. His mother, Nina Hamlin, rode with him to the hospital, ABC announcers reported on-air.
Players from both teams were seen leaving the locker rooms out of uniform and team staff started putting equipment away before the NFL made an announcement.
By 10 p.m. ET, the league officially postponed the game.
The NFL said in a statement posted to Twitter on Monday night that the NFL Players Association agreed on postponing the game.
"Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition," the NFL's statement read.
"Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available," the NFL added in its statement.
Extreme amount of urgency in treating injured Bills defensive player Damar Hamlin. Ambulance on the field at Paycor Stadium. pic.twitter.com/QLmmn3kqMg
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) January 3, 2023
Fox 19 sports reporter Joe Danneman posted a video to Twitter showing an ambulance driving onto the field at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati after Hamlin collapsed:
"I'm told Damar Hamlin has a pulse, but is not breathing on his own. He is being transported to UC," Danneman tweeted on Monday night. "Needed AED and CPR on the field."
Danneman also reported on Monday citing an anonymous source that the Bills are flying home and will not be staying in Cincinnati.
Several players were also seen looking distraught while medical personnel were tending to Hamlin on the field.
"The thoughts and prayers of all of Bills Mafia are supporting you, Damar," the Buffalo Bills tweeted on Monday night.
"Sending big prayers & love to @HamlinIsland right now," the NFL Players Association tweeted.
The game has been postponed. The NFL issued a statement confirming Hamlin is in critical condition after getting attention on the field from “team and independent medical staff and local paramedics.”
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game,” the statement concludes.
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2023
"Please continue to pray for Damar and his family. We currently have no update at this time. Will ask that you keep the family in your prayers," Hamlin's agent Ira Turner told ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland spoke about the incident and pleaded with the league to call the game off completely.
The ambulance has now left the stadium, headed to the hospital
— Jatara McGee WLWT (@jatara_) January 3, 2023
“It’s something like we’ve never seen before, I’ve never seen it never been a part of it and never heard about it,” McFarland said.
“You hate to keep repeating the same thing but all you can do is pray for this young man.
“Hopefully they’ve gotten word, hopefully the Bills and the doctors are communicating with the family I can only imagine what my family would want to know.
“That’s somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, somebody’s father, they want to know what’s going on.”