Damar Hamlin is celebrated by football fans as he returns to Buffalo Bills Stadium. There is no happy ending for the team in the playoff defeat against the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the favored Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs and are one win away from making the Super Bowls away. In heavy snowfall in Buffalo, the Bengals won 27-10, largely unchallenged, and will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC finals next Sunday. “Dominance from start to finish. The job isn’t done yet, we have a tough away game ahead of us,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told CBS.
The duel against the Chiefs already took place last season – the Bengals surprisingly prevailed a year ago and entered the Super Bowl, which they then lost to the Los Angeles Rams. “It’s going to be fun. Two of the top guys in the league, two of the top teams, it’s going to be exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” Burrow said. Whether Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play with his sprained ankle is open.
For the highly traded Bills, on the other hand, the season is over again after the divisional round. The biggest cheer from the otherwise disappointed Bills fans came just before half-time when Damar Hamlin’s presence was announced over the stadium loudspeakers. For the 24-year-old defenseman, it was the first visit to the stadium since his cardiac arrest three weeks ago, which resulted in the Bills’ main round game being abandoned against the Bengals. Hamlin, seated in a box, stood up, made a heart with his hands and used his arms to encourage viewers to cheer louder, as seen in the CBS TV footage.
Hamlin’s rapid progress after the shock had given his team-mates extra impetus and motivation in recent weeks, but the hosts found no resources against the Bengals. The guests, led by Burrow, took the lead with the first ball possession, and after the first quarter the Bengals were 14-0 in snowstorms. Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it possible with a touchdown pass to make it 7:14, but the team from the working-class city in New York State was less than seven points behind the Bengals.
(dpa)