The Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills Week 17 Monday night game was called off after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a freak accident in the first quarter.
Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Medical personnel acted quickly and were able to restore Hamlin’s heartbeat on the field, and he was then taken away in an ambulance to a hospital.
On Thursday morning, the Bills announced in a statement that Hamlin “has shown remarkable improvement”, that he also “appears to be neurologically intact” and that his lungs are continuing to heal and that he’s “making steady progress.”
Bengals vs Ravens Game Set For 1 p.m. EST
Following the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game, there were questions about how the league would play out the Week 18 schedule. Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Bengals-Baltimore Ravens Week 18 game will go as scheduled at 1 p.m. EST.
The Buckeye State launched sports betting on New Year’s Day, allowing Bengals fans in Ohio to place wagers on their team. Customers can enjoy several special offers from the Ohio sportsbooks upon signing up, including the Caesars Ohio promo code where you’ll receive up to $1,500 in first bet insurance.
Cincinnati leads the AFC North with a record of 11-4. They lost their first meeting to the Ravens (10-6) on the road 19-17 back in Week 5, with Justin Tucker booting the game-winning field goal on the final play.
Joe Burrow: Bengals Have “Mixed” Feelings About Playing Their Next Game
.@Bengals Joe Burrow is the 1st player in NFL history with multiple 400-yard passing games in a season vs the same team (Ravens). pic.twitter.com/kgbgpahLJA
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 26, 2021
The Bills-Bengals game was called off shortly after Hamlin’s terrifying injury scare, and the NFL ultimately decided against moving it to a later date. In a short week, both the Bills and Bengals are now trying to regain their focus for Sunday’s games.
Buffalo will host the AFC East rival New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium (1:00 p.m. EST), looking to eliminate Bill Belichick and company from playoff contention.
Following the tragic scene that unfolded on Monday night, it’s understandable that some players are against the idea of playing this Sunday.
Per Ben Church and Jill Martin of CNN, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow revealed to reporters that the team has “mixed” feelings about playing in Sunday’s game against the Ravens.
“I’m sure if you polled the locker room there would be mixed votes on that. Personally, I think playing is going to be tough, but there’s people that want to play, too, and there’s people that don’t.
Personally, I probably want to play. I think getting back to as normal as you can as fast as you can is personally how I kind of deal with these kinds of things. But like I said, everyone has a different way of dealing with it…Unfortunate as it is, we got a game to play on Sunday.”
Burrow and the Bengals swept the Ravens in last year’s season series, and it ended up being the difference in the AFC North division race. We’ll see if Burrow and company can prevent Baltimore from returning the favor with a season series sweep of their own.
Bengals Great Willie Anderson A Finalist for 2023 Pro Football Hall Of Fame Class
Former Bengals star offensive tackle Willie Anderson is one of the finalists of the modern era for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
The Bengals drafted Anderson 10th overall in 1996. He played with the organization from 1996 to 2007, helping them to an unexpected AFC North division title in the 2005 season. He played his final season for the Ravens in 2008, getting them to the AFC Championship Game — where they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Anderson earned four straight Pro Bowl nods from 2003 to 2006. He was also a three-time First-team All-Pro and a Second-team All-Pro.
Former Pro Bowl running back Corey Dillon had six straight 1,000-yard seasons (1997 to 2002) as a Bengal with Anderson leading the way on the o-line. Rudi Johnson rushed for over 1,400 yards in back-to-back seasons for Cincinnati in 2004 and ‘05, finishing with the two best single-season totals in franchise history.
Johnson’s success, there, was largely thanks to the work of Anderson. On top of that, Anderson’s grade-A blocking helped Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson form one of the best quarterback-receiving duos of the 2000s.
Anderson is also a member of the Cincinnati Bengals’ ring of honor.
Anderson is one of two former offensive linemen who’s a modern-era finalist for this year’s class. The other is former Cleveland Browns star left tackle Joe Thomas, who’s a sure bet to get the call this year. Former All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, widely regarded as the greatest CB of his era, is also a virtual lock to get in.
If Anderson gets elected, he’ll be just the fourth player in Bengals history to earn a spot in Canton. Anderson would join wide receivers Charlie Joiner and Terrell Owens and former offensive lineman Anthony Muñoz.
