Damar Hamlin breaks silence on IG days after suffering cardiac arrest - "The love has been overwhelming"

Damar Hamlin made his first public statement following his cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football's game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bills' safety collapsed on the field following a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He was quickly aided by doctors from both teams, and their administration of CPR saved his life.

Hamlin made a quick Instagram post to thank the prayers and messages directed to him over the previous five days:

The Instagram post made by Damar has four pictures and the final part is touching. After waking up for the first time following the incident, he asked, by writing, who had won the game. The doctors responded "You've won. You've won the game of life".

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He also spoke to his teammates on Friday. Bills head coach Sean McDermott told his players before practice that he had a treat for them in an adjacent room. Once they'd entered, they were able to talk to Hamlin for the first time since the incident. Hamlin has since been active on Twitter as well.

McDermott spoke about the moment during a press conference following practice.

"When I said we had a treat in store ... you could see the look on their eyes in anticipation of what was probably coming. To get the Zoom, and when he came on the screen -- to see the players' reaction, they stood up right away and clapped for him and yelled some things to him and it was a pretty cool exchange for a few seconds there."

The Bills are preparing to play the New England Patriots on Sunday. They need a loss from the Kansas City Chiefs in order to have a shot at the top seed in the AFC.

Damar Hamlin's latest update: player awake and neurologically intact

After NFL fans saw the scariest incident in years involving a player's health, the news coming from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center has been much better. Hamlin is already extubated, is neurologically intact and his condition is improving day by day, although he remains in critical condition.

He was also able to talk to a few other friends who are not from the Bills, such as Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders, who grew up alongside Hamlin. They're best friends.

The doctors were excellent and saved his life with their quick response. The brain might suffer serious damage after four to six minutes without oxygen; CPR was administered on the field and saved Damar's life.