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The Buffalo Bills' season ended in disappointing fashion after a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round, prematurely ending a year where they were expected to compete — and dethrone — the Kansas City Chiefs from the top of the AFC.
Although the final result was a huge disappointment, emotions were flying high during the game as Bills' safety Damar Hamlin was present in the stadium supporting his teammates.
It was his first public appearance since he suffered a cardiac arrest and had CPR performed during a Monday Night Football game against the same Bengals in Week 17. The game was subsequently canceled as neither team wanted to continue following what happened to Hamlin.
With Buffalo's premature elimination, he fired a warning to the league and its fans about the future of the Bills:
The fact that Hamlin survived the scariest situation on an NFL field in years is a much more important development than the Bills' playoff result.
Bills season ends in disappointment
The end of the season was full of emotions for Buffalo. The defense crumbled in November when Von Miller went down for the year with an ACL injury, but they were still in the fight to be the first seed in the AFC before the Week 17 game that was canceled.
Not earning the first seed was a tough deal, even though there was nothing else to do based on the circumstances. Had they won the top seed, Buffalo would've avoided Cincinnati in the Divisional Round, making for an easier path to the AFC Championship Game.
Damar Hamlin is now healthy and recovering from cardiac arrest, even though the road to returning to the field is still long — and it's unclear if he'll return to the league. He's improving daily, has visited his teammates in the facilities and is back in the stadium.
Although the Super Bowl remains far from Buffalo, they learned this year that there are more important things than a football game. As the doctors said, Hamlin won the game of life. That's what matters.
