Bills WR provides candid account of locker room following Damar Hamlin's collapse
As more and more details emerge on the postponement (and eventual cancellation) of the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, we keep learning just how complex the situation really was. In a recent article for ESPN, senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. describes how the decision to not play came from the two teams […]
As more and more details emerge on the postponement (and eventual cancellation) of the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, we keep learning just how complex the situation really was.
In a recent article for ESPN, senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. describes how the decision to not play came from the two teams involved and not from NFL executives.
"The league did not cancel the game," an unnamed source described as a top team official says in the article. "The Bills and the Bengals canceled the game."
I recommend reading the full story by Van Natta Jr in the link above.
Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie provided more behind-the-scenes details in his podcast with Tyler Dunne, including the player who became the No. 1 reason why the team decided to not play.
Based on comments from players and coaches from both the Bills and the Bengals, we know that HC Sean McDermott didn't want to keep coaching the game. But he had Josh Allen and other team captains get a notion of the feeling among players before making a decision.
McDermott said in a press conference earlier this month that he wanted to give his own team the option to play.
McKenzie described the scene candidly by revealing that Bills QB Josh Allen told the team that "if one guy can't play, then we're not playing."
McKenzie added that in a very quiet locker room, center Mitch Morse was the one to stand up and say the Bills were not going to play the game.
"There's a lot of guys that don't know what to do, they don't know how to feel," McKenzie explained to his co-host in the podcast.
"And nobody is going to say anything. There were probably more people that wanted to play than there were people who didn't want to play."
The Bills wide receiver explained that it was a shocking experience. He also described how football players are wired to keep playing in most injury situations but that Damar Hamlin's situation was very different since his life was in danger.
Fortunately, Hamlin's recovery has been trending in the right direction as the safety is now in Buffalo in a local hospital after being discharged from UC Medical Center.
But every detail adds to the idea that the Bills have very strong leadership both from the coaching staff and the players.
Featured image via Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
