WGR

‘The Bills turned the ball over three times. One came on a fumble by Devin Singletary at their own nine-yard line. The other was an interception thrown by Josh Allen at the Patriots 15-yard line in a tie game. That led to New England taking the lead. A third came with 8:34 remaining in the game when Taiwan Jones had a punted ball go off his foot, allowing the Patriots to recover at the Bills 35 yard line.’

‘“It was obviously difficult and challenging, you never want to see a circumstance like that, with your player or anybody else. The most important thing was to allow our medical personnel – who are trained, practice, they have protocols for this exact scenario – I knew they were going to do the right things, medically.”’

‘The first contest went in favor of the Dolphins in Week 3, with Miami squeezing out a 21-19 win over the Bills in the sweltering South Florida sun. The next contest went in Buffalo’s favor, as the Bills got a walkoff game-winning kick from Tyler Bass to beat the Dolphins, 32-29, and clinch a playoff berth for a fourth-straight year.’

‘The Bills can’t let that emotion overwhelm them, and while they’ll want to use it to help propel them throughout the game, they’ll also need to stay focused on the task at hand against a Patriots team fighting to keep their season alive.’

‘In addition, the team says Hamlin’s neurologic function remains intact and has been able to talk to his family, care team, as well as his teammates over FaceTime. During his FaceTime with the team on Friday, he told the players and coaches on the call, “Love you boys.”‘

‘“We were able to Zoom and see Damar, he was able to gesture with more so with his hands, but we were able to hear him say ‘I love you boys’ to the team and the people in the room” McDermott also said that the call was brief but it was much needed for Damar and the team.’

‘Benford will be available to play for the Bills this week after being placed on Injured Reserve after their Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Detroit Lions due to an oblique injury.’

‘”I can’t say enough about what he did, what he said to us in the locker room,” Allen expounded. “Obviously, just a dire circumstance that nobody’s expecting, nobody’s ready for. You can never put yourself in that situation until it happens. … Coach handled it as perfect as anybody could.”‘

‘Had Monday’s game been completed, the winner would have had a shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC (the Bills still do, while the Bengals do not). As a result, the league said it will play the AFC Championship Game at a neutral site if the participating teams played “an unequal amount of game and both could have been the No. 1 seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season.”’

‘While speaking to reporters via Zoom, Dr. Pritts and Dr. William Knight IV said the prompt recognition of his loss of a pulse led to immediate CPR performed by Bills medical and training staff. They said it was critical to not only saving Hamlin’s life, but keeping his neurological functions intact.’

‘The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots both released their Thursday injury reports.’

‘Mayden had spent a little over three weeks on the Bills’ practice squad back in October. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020 out of Alabama, as he signed with the San Francisco 49ers.’

‘”He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him.”‘

‘On the same conference call, NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller said they will continue to consult with both clubs, and a decision will be made in the coming days on the future of the game.’

‘”Damar Hamlin spent last night in the intensive care unit and remains there today in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.’