Damar Hamlin in their hearts, the NFL pays tribute to No. 3

Damar Hamlin’s old high school teammate caught the ball he had just intercepted, jogged to the 30-yard line, carefully placed the pigskin over the red-lined “3,” raised his arms over his head and made the shape. from the heart.

“I’m just glad I got a chance to go out there and play and respect people the way I did,” said Hamlin’s buddy, Colts safety Rodney Thomas II.

Thomas’ writing may be the most poignant moment, but far from just a shout-out for Bills safety in the NFL Sunday filled with love for stricken players whose impact has been felt across the nation.

Hamlin’s number – the number “3” – is displayed everywhere in the league, depicted on the 30-yard line on the field, attached to a special patch on the Bills’ uniforms and displayed on jackets and sweatshirts and even on a red heart dangling from the tail tent outside. the Bills’ home stadium.

The highest volume of tributes poured in, naturally, from the parking lot in Orchard Park, New York, where Buffalo’s 35-23 victory over New England was punctuated by a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Nyheim Hines in the game’s opening play. .

“OM*G!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Hamlin tweeted after the quick score.

The safety, who is recovering after collapsing on the field Monday night in Cincinnati has dominated every NFL story line, also shared a photo of himself making a heart with his hands from a hospital bed shortly before kickoff with the caption “GAMETIME!!! @ BuffaloBills.”

Earlier, in the lot outside Highmark Stadium, Ryan Magnuson stood in front of a 4-by-10-foot canvas greeting card placed at the foot of the Bills’ stadium entrance for fans to sign. The message on the card: “If you get the chance to show love today, do it. It won’t cost you anything” – a reprise of Hamlin’s tweet sent back in 2021.

Fifteen hundred miles away, and three hours later in Denver, the Chargers and Broncos each walked to the number and connected the smuggling near their respective sidelines before the first snap of the game when the number 3 in both teams – Russell Wilson and Derwin James Jr. – meet at the 50-yard-line, shake hands and kneel in prayer.

Philly running back Miles Sanders tweeted a picture of himself, wearing a “Love For Damar” sweatshirt, and flashing the number “3” while FaceTiming with Hamlin from the hospital.

WATCH | NFL players, fans show support for Hamlin:

NFL players, fans show support for Damar Hamlin

Less than a week after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a heart attack during a game, fans and players showed their support for him and his recovery at NFL stadiums in the US.

It’s not all warm and fuzzy.

In Cincinnati, Bengals running back Joe Mixon celebrated a touchdown by imitating a coin flip – as can happen, per the NFL’s last contingency plan – to decide home-field advantage in a potential playoff game between the Bengals and Ravens.

Cincinnati’s 27-16 win over the Ravens on Sunday prevented that possibility. The Ravens will visit Cincy next week in the wild card round. But saying everything is back to normal in the NFL this week, or for the upcoming playoffs, still feels like a bit of a stretch.

The season will be marked by “Love For Damar” sweatshirts and others embroidered with “Hamlin Strong,” which Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore in Saturday’s win over the Raiders.

Hamlin is selling T-shirts to benefit first responders

Some may be wearing shirts sold by Hamlin himself, with proceeds going to first responders and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he began to collapse on the field and had to be resuscitated by medical staff last Monday.

“We all won,” Hamlin tweeted Sunday after the Bills’ win. “I want to return one ounce of the love y’all showed me. Proceeds from this shirt will go to first-responders and the UC Trauma Center. Go get you!”

The tweet included a picture of three shirts, each with Hamlin’s hand forming a heart — a hospital ID tag on his right wrist — and “Did We Win?” in large print. Hamlin’s first question after he woke up was whether the Bills had beaten the Cincinnati Bengals in the game when he collapsed on the field.

The post-season is also bound to be filled with reminders of the high stakes of this game about more than the trophy will be awarded at the end of the Super Bowl.

Of course it feels a little off. If Kansas City and Buffalo advance to the AFC title game, for example, the game will be played on a neutral field, in a city that has yet to be determined.

The heart of the league beats strongest in Buffalo on Sunday.

In the large parking lot surrounding the stadium, fans wore shirts and T-shirts they made themselves in honor of Hamlin.

Sue Sonner wore former Bills football player EJ Manuel’s No. 3 jersey; Her creative husband was covered by the name of Manuel and replaced with Hamlin.

“It will be very emotional. I took some tissue with me for sure,” said Sonner, who is from Corning, New York, and was also in the stadium in Cincinnati on Friday.

“We can see scurry and trauma and panic and all that. So very somber, very somber environment,” he said. “Now he’s progressed and we think he’ll be okay, now we’re happy to play football again. And I hope he recovers.”

WATCH | Hamlin sighed to himself, speaking to his friends:

Damar Hamlin breathed on his own, talking to his friends

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is once again breathing on his own and even talking to friends, after suffering a heart attack earlier this week during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals football team.