CINCINNATI — As Cincinnati closed out its season at home with a 27-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens, last week’s events weighed heavily on the minds of fans, coaches and players.
In the sea of orange and black in the stands, you could also find a lot of red and blue, as fans wore Bills gear, number 3 patches and decals to show their solidarity with the 24-year-old safety Damar Hamlin who is still recovering at UC Medical Center following his cardiac arrest on the field Monday.
One season ticket-holder, Roy Bradley said he’s been coming to games for more than 42 years and watching the scene unfold last week was the scariest thing he said he’s seen on the field.
“It was just so quiet last week after it happened,” he said.
To pay tribute to Damar Hamlin and recognize his recovery, Bradley said he tried to find a Bills hat to wear to the game, but when they were sold out, he made do with what he could find.
“I said hey, ‘Can you get me a blue hat?’” he said. “How about a red 3?”
Before the game, Jim Foster, who hosts the Bengal Jim’s tailgate experience, brought hundreds of fans together for a moment of reflection and prayer for Hamlin’s continued recovery.
“I think every NFL team is doing some sort of tribute to Damar. Amazing recovery. Just millions of prayers across the country,” he said. “It was just an awful situation, but it sounds like things are really getting better for him.”
Inside the stadium, the game began with an on-field thank you to the UC Health personnel and first responders who helped care for Hamlin both that night and over the past week.
For fans like Jake Perkins, it was a touching moment that helped ease the tension he’d been feeling since Monday’s game.
“It helped to get good news and positive signs on his recovery the last few days,” he said.
After the game, Coach Zac Taylor, who wore a “Love for Damar” shirt along with most of the coaching staff, agreed it was a burden off the team’s shoulders to go into this game knowing Hamlin’s recovery so far.
“That’s just spectacular news considering just six days ago, you would never have thought that could happen,” he said. “So to hear how that’s evolved over the course of the week is just incredible.”
Hamlin remains at UC Medical Center, though doctors say his recovery has been remarkable so far. He’s breathing on his own, he’s been able to talk to the team and today, he watched the Bills game with his family from his hospital bed.
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Bengals organization expressed frustration at the way the NFL handled the playoff seeding picture after the “no-contest” call on the Bills-Bengals game. Now, with a win against Baltimore, all questions of a possible coin toss deciding homefield advantage out of the way.
The Bengals will likely face Baltimore again next week, right back at Paycor Stadium to kick off the team’s playoff run.
