CINCINNATI - What happened Monday night at Paycor Stadium is unprecedented in NFL history as far back as record keeping goes, a game postponed and not being finished that same day or night.
Games have been delayed for many reasons, usually because of serious injuries and dangerous weather, and then resumed. But there is no evidence of a situation like the one that took place when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the turf with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter in what was supposed to be the game of the year in the NFL against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Within a minute after Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, stood up, and then immediately fell to the ground, the Bills’ training and medical staff had encircled him and it was clear that something was terribly wrong.
And of course, there was. As we later learned in a team statement sent at 1:49 a.m. Tuesday, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and he was given CPR which successfully restored his heartbeat and saved his life.
He was then transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was under sedation and listed in critical condition. There has been no update Tuesday afternoon.
A little over an hour after the incident, the NFL, in consultation with both teams, decided to postpone the game. The NFL announced in a news release Tuesday afternoon that the game “will not be resumed this week.”
“The NFL has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date,” the statement read. The league also announced that it has not altered the week 18 regular season schedule.
It is not clear whether the game will be completed at a later date or how Monday’s unfinished game will impact the two teams.
Chuck Hughes is only player to die during an NFL game
Thankfully, Hamlin did not become the second player in NFL history to die during a game. Chuck Hughes, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, collapsed on the field at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 24, 1971 during a game against the Chicago Bears.
Hughes had just made a 32-yard reception, and then a couple plays later, Bears’ defensive end Ed O’Bradovich watched in disbelief as Hughes clutched his chest and fell face first to the ground. Hall of Famer Dick Butkus was right there as well, and he began frantically waving for help. In all likelihood, Hughes was dead before the medical personnel reached him.
Yet after he was transported off the field, because it was very late in the game, the teams actually finished the game which seems almost impossible to comprehend.
Hughes is the only NFL player to die on the playing field, but there was have been other horrific incidents.
Other serious injuries in NFL football games
Bills fans recall the incredibly scary situation with Kevin Everett in 2007 when he nearly died on the field after suffering a paralyzing injury making a tackle on a kickoff. Heroic measures on the field that day by the team’s training staff and doctors saved his life.
The Lions have had two other tragic incidents occur. Linebacker Reggie Brown suffered a spinal cord injury in the final game of the 1997 season, was given CPR on the field and has now mostly recovered from the injury.
Lions offensive guard Mike Utley was paralyzed during a game in 1991 and survived, though unlike Brown, he remains a paraplegic.
In 1992, Dennis Byrd of the Jets was paralyzed during a game and later was able to regain the ability to walk, but he was tragically killed in a car accident in Oklahoma in 2016.
More recently, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal cord injury in 2017, but he was also able to recover.
Despite all of these traumatic and tragic incidents, none of the games were postponed.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
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