"We don't know whether Damar's gonna make it or not" - Bills GM Brandon Beane opens up on Damar Hamlin's scary cardiac arrest during NFL game

One of the most gripping moments in NFL history was when Damar Hamlin suffered a life-threatening cardiac arrest at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Jan. 2, 2023. The safety collapsed in the first quarter of the Week 17 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was a tense moment for players from both teams as some were seen visibly shaken, some kneeling in prayer, others openly weeping, while many formed a circle around him. The raw emotions on the field were well captured on the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast.

Appearing on the podcast "Bussin' With The Boys" on Tuesday, Bills GM Brandon Beane described what the moment looked like. The long-term NFL executive narrated how his team handled the incident amid huge concerns for Damar Hamlin, who had been transported to the hospital.

“We grabbed our leaders together, Sean, myself, and our guys, and we were the same way,” Beane said (Timestamp: 1:13:54). “We said, ‘How can we go back out there?’ We don't know whether Damar is going to make it or not. And so at that point, we just kind of prayed.

“We sent a group of us over to the hospital to support his family, and we worked on getting our guys back to Buffalo. We lined up counselors the next day. Football was secondary, even though we had a game to play. I don't think we practiced for about a day or a day and a half that Thursday or Friday.”

Brandon Beane commended the conduct of the Bengals after Damar Hamlin’s incident

Brandon Beane commended how Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals conducted themselves during Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest incident. It was a high-stakes game with huge implications for both teams, but the Bengals were supportive of the Bills in every aspect.

"After he got in that ambulance and went off, we prayed as a team, we got up, and there were all sorts of emotions,” Beane said. “There were tears, there was fear, there was the unknown, there were a lot of things and it was a tough moment for the league.

“The Bengals were amazing. This was a big game. It was fighting for the one seed at the time. There's one week left. This isn't a preseason game or Week 3. This is like Week 16, Week 17. And a lot was riding on this game. It's national TV. And I thought the Bengals and Zach Taylor and that crew did a great job.”

Despite the high stakes the game had, it was suspended after Damar Hamlin was transported to the hospital and wasn't replayed. Both teams and the NFL collectively decided against resuming the game. The two teams, however, had their postseason position determined by win percentage, while the AFC championship game was scheduled for a neutral field.