LAS VEGAS — NFL players are often optimistic about dealing with the violence and serious injuries inherent in sports. They’ve seen it all — or at least until medical personnel witnessed Buffalo Bills safety Dumar Hamlin’s chest being squeezed Monday night, like he’s a routine tackle. After seeing this, I went into cardiac arrest.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters Wednesday, “I’ve never seen anyone get CPR or anything like that on the field.” I don’t know if it was, it hasn’t happened in such a long time and I don’t think about it when I’m stepping out onto the field.”
Asked if Kansas City should play again this weekend, Mahomes hesitated.
“It’s hard for me to say,” he said. “It’s not something I can control either way.”
Ready or not, the NFL player is back on the field, starting with Hamlin’s life in jeopardy, still in the hospital but much better after his breathing tube was removed. Mahomes will be one of the first NFL players to step onto the field since Hamlin’s collapse when Kansas City takes on the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday afternoon. become a person
NFL players are experts at blocking out distractions (family, crowd, lingering injuries) and focusing on the task at hand. But they, too, may not be able to escape the feeling that something is wrong.
More on the Collapse of Dummer Hamlin
“It’s probably on the back end of people’s minds,” Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham said.
Hamlin, 24, went down after tackling Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter of a game televised on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
For over ten minutes, medical professionals performed life-saving work on Hamlin, an ambulance returned to the field, and Bills players knelt around him. We flowed and hugged each other.
That gruesome scene just a few days ago seemed like a distant memory on Friday afternoon, as hundreds of Kansas City fans dressed in red and bought drinks with team-branded credit cards. It was, and probably will continue to be, the quintessential Vegas fun weekend.
The tickets had already been purchased and the hotel room was reserved, so they stuck to their schedule. But the games they’re in won’t have much of a celebratory aura, at least at first.
There are plenty of tributes to Hamlin at every NFL game this weekend. , players wear pre-match shirts and patches honoring him.
Hamlin is also present in a less conspicuous way when players likely have a few extra seconds during pre-game prayers before they step onto the field.
But maybe it will go back to business as usual. “It’s the Raiders and it’s the Chiefs,” said Kansas City manager Andy Reed. “It doesn’t get any better than this and I look forward to playing with them.”
The interim must be short-lived, as this game will have important consequences for Kansas City. The team has the best record in the AFC with his 13-3 record and hopes to win a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Bengals-Bills game was postponed to Monday night after Hamlin went down, but the NFL chose not to restart, so Kansas City could beat the Raiders or the Bills lose to the Patriots on Sunday afternoon. In that case, he would win a bye in the first round.
However, the first seed doesn’t necessarily guarantee Kansas City home field advantage throughout the playoffs. To make up for the Bills and Bengals ending the regular season and playing one game less than the other team, there are scenarios in which Kansas City could play either the Bills or the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at a neutral site. .
The 6-10 Raiders are only playing for pride.
