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‘“Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the team said in its statement. “While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.”’

‘“In times when a leader needs to make a decision, when you take a bunch of time to ask everybody else what their opinion would be, it seems more like you’re searching for the answer you want and not what the right answer actually is,” Tretter said, via Yahoo Sports. “We made the determination it wouldn’t be smart to continue playing the moment we saw what happened and how scary that was. Obviously, as we all know, it took a long time for that to actually go into effect.”’

‘There were moments of incredible, unfathomable maturity, like when Allen called the press conference back in session momentarily, just to tell folks to lay off Tee Higgins, the Bengals receiver who was tackled by Hamlin in the moments preceding his collapse. Or, when center Mitch Morse talked about the complexities of the grieving process, where 90 people in the building could all be experiencing what happened in 90 different ways. Even the mental fitness to make it through a packed NFL press conference, an exercise in patience and humility on a good day as reporters cut you off and shout over the end of a heartfelt sentiment, didn’t go unnoticed.’

‘In regards to how the cancellation affects the AFC playoff implications, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the NFL owners are set to meet on Friday to go over scenarios. Here’s a list of the possible scenarios as of now.’

‘“When [Hamlin] asked, ‘Did we win?,’ the answer is, ‘Yes ‘Damar, you won. You’ve won the game of life,’” Pritts said. “That’s probably the most important thing out of this and we really need to keep him in the center of everything else that’s going on and we really want to ensure a good outcome for him.”’

‘“You call the Bengals–Bills a tie. The No. 1 seed gets the choice of home field [advantage] throughout the playoffs or the bye. The No. 2 seed gets whatever isn’t chosen, so either a bye or home field advantage,” Schefter said. “That would be one scenario that I believe the league has talked about.”’

‘When a Bills player is alone on Christmas Eve and you invite him to your house, he’ll show up and stay for two hours, just like Isaiah McKenzie did this year. There’s a good chance you’ve played Call of Duty with Josh Allen, the starting quarterback, and may not have even known it. You might have shoveled one of their cars out of the snow. They might have shoveled out yours. And when one of them falls, you overwhelm a fundraising page for his foundation. That’s just the way it is here.’

‘The second scenario is one that Schefter described as “more viable” and the option that the NFL might enact “before Saturday’s game” centers around the AFC Championship game. Schefter said the AFC title game could be played a neutral site if it involves teams that do not have the same amount of games played due to Monday’s game being a non-result.’

‘Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington is one such person being hailed as a hero. Sources told Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer that Kellington administered timely CPR that was absolutely vital in saving Hamlin’s life. Buffalo coach Sean McDermott called him “a real leader, a real hero, in saving Damar’s life” during Thursday’s press conference.’

‘“Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.”‘

‘As of now, the AFC championship game will take place at a neutral site if the two teams do not have an equal number of games played during the regular season, and if the team could have been the top seed and hosted the game if they had played 17 games. Essentially, this only matters if it involves the Bills or Bengals and the top-seeded Chiefs.’

‘“Mental health is real,” McDermott said. “The job description of a coach is not just coaching Xs and Os. It’s much more than that.”’

‘“I do,” Allen said quickly. “I do, as well,” added McDermott. “The news we received today, in particular, was a huge lift.”’

‘The game could be declared a no-contest by the commissioner or the NFL could create a Week 19, giving bye weeks to the other 12 teams in the playoffs.’

‘“Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight,” the Bills said in a tweet. “He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him.”’