Bengals Players Thinking of Damar Hamlin With AFC North Showdown With Ravens Looming

Cincinnati's game with Buffalo was postponed on Monday night.

The Bengals have had an unusual week after Paycor Stadium went from an exciting, loud, crazy atmosphere with a No. 1 seed on the line on Monday Night Football to a stadium that had the energy sucked out of it. Football became obsolete in a split second as NFL medical personnel worked feverishly to save the life of Damar Hamlin. The Bills safety is currently in critical condition at UC Medical Center.

“Oh man, a lot of emotions,” Joe Burrow said. “Obviously very, very scary. Not a lot of clarity, a lot of rumors, a lot of… just a lot of stuff going around. And so it was very emotional 48 hours.”

“It’s our job. Unfortunately, it’s the world we live in with this job,” DJ Reader said. “We’re blessed to play this game. You got to go out there and figure it out. Whatever comes next, comes next. You got to figure it out and try to move on the best you can.”

Now, Cincinnati’s players must compartmentalize and drown their thoughts into the game plan for the final game of the regular season. 

The NFL announced on Wednesday afternoon that the Week 18 game between the Ravens and the Bengals would kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The time of this game was originally dependent on the outcome of the Monday night's matchup with the Bills.

The game was postponed after Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter. 

“I think whatever Buffalo would want to do would be what we would want to do as well,” Burrow said. “We’re behind them 100 percent and support them in whatever they would decide to do going forward.”

Cincinnati’s players were back in the building on Wednesday, trying to get back to normal as much as possible. It's another harsh reality of the world they live in: the Ravens are coming to town with their hair on fire after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Bengals are still mentally processing what they saw on Monday night. 

D.J Reader was asked if he wanted to play on Sunday and he was transparent with his answer.

“I can't really answer that question," Reader said when asked if he wanted to play on Sunday. "I have to go out there and play if that's what is called to do, but I could also see the other side if guys don't want to,” Reader said. “I can definitely empathize with that and understand why that would be the case. I'm just not in the space to tell you what I want to do right now."

It’s a unique situation for the Ravens this week as well. They're 10-6 on the year, 1.5 games behind Cincinnati in the AFC North standings. The NFL has not notified Baltimore about their playoff status going into Week 18.

Division crown details are up in the air, as is Lamar Jackson's status for the matchup. 

The former NFL MVP is still recovering from the knee injury he sustained a month ago. He missed his 13th-straight practice on Wednesday. His backup, Tyler Huntley was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a right shoulder and wrist injury.

As the Ravens battle physical injuries, the Bengals will battle the head game this week. With a win on Sunday, and a Bills loss to the Patriots, the Bengals could wind up in a tie with Buffalo. If there were a two-way tie breaker, the Bengals would win it over the Bills. 

We still don't know if they'll replay or continue Cincinnati's matchup with Buffalo—it's something the NFL is hoping to figure out in the coming days.

"Whatever Buffalo would want to do is what we would want to do," Burrow said. "We're behind them 100%." 

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