“The Scary Part About It Is…” : Bengals QB Joe Burrow Gets Real About The Impact of Damar Hamlin’s Injury on His Team’s Mindset

Damar Hamlin’s tragic injury on Monday night has certainly shaken up the Buffalo Bills. Though, it seems the Cincinnati Bengals have not been spared either. Having witnessed a harrowing scene unfold in front of their eyes, it is understandable that the Bengals’ are also traumatized. Their captain Joe Burrow explains his team’s feelings as they head into the final week of the regular season.’

During a press conference, Burrow talks about how Hamlin’s injury acted as a “wake-up call” for everyone. “I think collectively, every single person that plays the game of football and has played has thought about something like that happening, and at the same time that you’re thinking that, [you’re] thinking it would never happen to you or to anybody that you know. I think it was a big wake-up call for everybody.”

He also goes on to talk about what his team went through in the moments after Hamlin’s injury. He says, “Nobody wanted to continue to play the game in a situation like that. I know how everybody would be feeling in our locker room if it was one of our guys, and I know how we were feeling when it was one of their guys. So it was a scary, emotional night.”

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Joe Burrow addresses upcoming and postponed games against Ravens and Bills

During the press conference, Burrow was asked if the team is ready to play their last regular season fixture. To which he said, “Personally, I think playing would be — is going to be tough. But there’s people that want to play, too, and 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 how I deal with these kinds of things.”

“But like I said, everybody has a different way of dealing with it… Unfortunate as it is, we got a game to play on Sunday. As unusual as this week has been, it’s business as usual from a football standpoint, unfortunately,” he added.

Burrow also reveals his thoughts on replaying their fixture against the Bills. “I think that would be tough just scheduling-wise,” he says. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do would be what we would want to do as well. We’re behind them 100% and support them in whatever they would decide to do going forward.” 

The Bengals’ captain has shown tremendous maturity and leadership in the aftermath of such a scary accident. Right after the teams were sent back to their locker rooms, in a show of support for their counterparts, Burrow led the rest of the Bengals’ captains to the Bills’ locker room, presumably to offer their prayers and to show support.

With the Bengals safely in the playoffs, it will not hurt them much if they decide to just take a step back and not play in Week 18. It is understandably a tough time for them, and the fans will surely back their players, and help them get back to normal. We wait and see how this pans out.

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