Nine months after he went into cardiac arrest on the field, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin played in his first NFL game. Hamlin played on special teams after an injury sidelined safety Jordan Poyer, having been cleared by his doctors. Hamlin played for 18 snaps during the game. He was the last player to come out of the tunnel behind his team, with his arms outstretched as he neared the goal line. After jumping into the endzone, he took a knee before joining his team on the sidelines. The Bills went on to beat the Miami Dolphins 48-20. 

Sharing his thoughts after the win, Hamlin said running out of the tunnel was “everything to me.” “I think it was more so about promising to myself than anything else — just showing myself that I have the courage, I got the strength, that I got the pride, everything … in me to be able to go through something so traumatic and to be able to come back from it. To be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing,” he added. Bills coach Sean McDermott was easily enthusiastic. “What an afternoon overall,” he said. “You just set the win aside for a second … nine months ago, this young man is in the situation he was in, and now he’s back. The spring, training camp, preseason, and now a regular-season game at an NFL level. You know, it’s just a surreal moment … to watch. The cameras, you guys, the cameras were all flocking around him. I made sure I stayed over here, but he deserves the attention he gets. I love the fact that he makes it about the team in so many ways.”

Prior to the game, Hamlin had participated in a pregame prayer, which was shared on ESPN’s “Sunday Countdown.” Host Sam Ponder commented on the emotional scene. “It’s easy to forget because, in the league, everything moves so quickly, and we move on to the next thing. But just what that man… has been through, what his family has been through, what that entire organization has been through to get to this point is just incredible.” Hamlin also lamented an injury incurred by his teammate, Tre’Davious White, during the third quarter. White had suffered a previous ACL injury last season, knocking him out of play. White had been a big supporter of Hamlin’s after his January 2 cardiac arrest. “In Cincinnati, I was in the hospital watching T-White speak at this same podium, speaking so highly of me,” Hamlin said. “He’s probably the hardest worker on the team,” he added. 

Defensive back and special teams player Siran Neal spoke glowingly of having Hamlin back on the field. “Oh, felt like he never left, felt like he never left, man,” he said. “When he got called up this week, he was excited, and then I was excited too. And it’s a huge blessing to see him back on the field doing what he loves to do — and all week, he’s been smiling, all teeth.” He also praised Hamlin’s gameplay. “He helped me out from the inside, playing inside on punt return, playing on kickoff return, kickoff and that — just him running out, running down on that field — is a huge blessing.”