Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - Leading up to kickoff on Sunday between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, the emotions started to build up with fans showing their love for safety Damar Hamlin with signs and apparel reflecting his No. 3 jersey.
In the moments before the Patriots elected to kick the ball to Buffalo to start the game, the Bills also did their part to build up the emotions with recognition of not only the love and support for Hamlin, but also the deserving recognition of the Bills' medical team that helped save Hamlin's life on the field at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
Then when Nyheim Hines returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for the game's opening touchdown, it was possible Hamlin, himself, could hear the explosive reaction from the fans from his hospital bed in Cincinnati.
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As the game went on, it was a bit of a roller coaster for a while, as Buffalo and New England exchanged touchdowns and changes of possession to make the contest interesting heading into the second half.
In the end, though, the Bills managed to pull away with a 35-23 win over the Patriots to not only earn a victory for Hamlin after his medical emergency less than a week prior, but also eliminating AFC East rival New England from playoff contention.
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"Going into the game, a lot of unknowns, just not sure how the players are going to handle it," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott following the win. "I feel like I had a pretty good control on how I was going to handle it, but you never know, again, just because it was a new situation for us, and we were all thinking of Damar and his family. Then we come out with the first play there and it was kind of surreal watching Nyheim score, and then I was more concerned - I guess it's just coach speak - about the next play and the ensuing three quarters, and how that was going to be handled there. But again, our guys came in at halftime, made the adjustments they needed to make, and then [went out an executed]."
Bills quarterback Josh Allen played a significant role in Buffalo's win over the Patriots, accumulating 254 passing yards on 19-of-31 passing. Although he did toss a costly interception near the end of the first half that left some points out there for the Bills, he did make things up with three passing touchdowns to Dawson Knox, John Brown and Stefon Diggs.
Like many of his teammates, Allen was particularly emotional this past week after seeing a beloved teammate like Hamlin nearly lose his life after a freak accident. Allen admitted on Thursday the scene replays over-and-over in his head from time-to-time, and it was a moment that will be hard to forget.
While the pain from last Monday's incident has resonated in the days following, Hamlin's progress in his recovery has been an injection of positive vibes, especially after Hamlin's FaceTime chat with his teammates and coaches on Friday.
After Hines' opening kickoff return for a touchdown, the Bills quarterback was overcome with emotion himself, as he put his hands on his head in amazement of what just happened.
"I can't remember a play that touched me like that in my life. It's probably No. 1. It was just spiritual," said Allen following the win. "I was going around, and just something that was going around my teammates saying, 'God's real.' You can't draw that one up any better. And I was just told by [Director of Communications] Kevin Kearns it's been three years and three months since the last kickoff return. It's pretty cool."
Hines wasn't stopped there, though, as he became the first Bills player, and 11th player in NFL history to return a pair of kickoff returns for a touchdown in a single game. His second kickoff return went for 101 yards and gave the Bills a 21-17 lead with 6:53 to go in the third quarter.
It was a play that swung the momentum of the game back in the Bills' favor for good.
As Hamlin watched his Bills teammates pull off the victory over the Patriots, he was quite active on his Twitter account while sitting in his hospital bed alongside his parents.
"They're a special family," McDermott said of the photo Hamlin posted on his Twitter. "I've gotten to know his parents now, obviously, more than I did before. What they've been through, his folks, and the way that they handled it; I was there, I know Brandon [Beane] and Nate [Breske] stayed as well, and then Tabani [Richards], I mentioned Tabani, he's still there... nobody wants to go through that, and to see how strong they were was impressive, extremely impressive. They love their son, so we support them as well."
Hamlin's support of his teammates came well-before Sunday's matchup with the Patriots in Orchard Park. Hamlin was actively texting with his teammates in the hours before kickoff to inspire them.
"We got a text from Damar [Saturday] at 2:31 in the morning. What he said was, 'I'm thinking about ya'll. I'm sorry that I did that to y'all.' For him to check on us when he's the person that's has gone through what he's gone through, that just shows what type of person he is for him to check on us in a situation like that when he's the one that's going through it," said Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White following the win. "Hopefully we can just get him back. I just want to hug the s*** out of him."
As the Bills felt the emotions of not only the week that was with their teammate, they also felt the emotions from the fans throughout the week and into Sunday's game.
Many Bills fans shared that emotion over the last several days, as they tracked the progress of Hamlin and prayed for a positive outcome in the end.
"It was really hard. Anyone that's a football fan can admit that's really hard, but being from Buffalo, being a Bills fan, that's really, really hard," said Bills fan Kate from Buffalo after the team's win. "I would say it's a miracle with everything that's happened, and I'm more than grateful of how fast the recovery's going."
"I can tell you that from the time that I saw him go down, I couldn't turn the channel for like two hours. I just kept watching, watching watching. I was like, 'I can't go to bed until I have an update,'" added Bills fan Brianna Green from Buffalo. "Having a slight medical background and understanding that's a long time to be down, that's a lot to have happened to a body, I just wanted to see him come back and be a person again. To see him make a full recovery the way he did is incredible. I'm so grateful, and Buffalo is really, really proud to have him back. I know I am, I know everyone in Buffalo feels the same way. There's a lot of love for him in that stadium today, for sure."
As for the game itself, Bills fans were taken by not only what had happened with Hamlin from nearly a week ago, but also the other occurrences of adversity this Bills team has had to endure this season.
"I guess the past few weeks with everything that happened with Damar Hamlin and the blizzard and everything, even the past seven months with the shooting and everything, it's nice being back in that community with everyone else, where you can kind of root for everyone and be around everyone from your hometown. It feels nice to be back," said Bills fan Ava from Buffalo.
As for, perhaps, the defining moment of the contest, Bills fans were blown away with the quick response from Hines and his 96-yard kick return to send Highmark Stadium into a frenzy.
"It just happened so fast," Kate said. "I was so taken aback. At first, I didn't think it was real, but I was like, 'Oh s***!' I've never seen anything like this before."
"I think that was definitely in his honor, that was all for Damar," Green added. "That was a lot of power. Those players felt it on that field today, for sure."
With the Bills now securing the No. 2 seed in the AFC with their win over the Patriots, the team will now get ready to host another AFC East rival during Wild Card Weekend. This time, Buffalo will welcome back the Miami Dolphins to Highmark Stadium after playing them more than three weeks ago to clinch a playoff berth.
Whether it was the pure emotions of the win or the effects of a bit of liquid courage, either way, Bills fans expressed nothing but confidence ahead of Buffalo's first playoff matchup of the postseason.
"I'm excited. We've play the Dolphins twice already, so I think all should go well if we keep up our energy," Kate said.
"I think they've got it," added Ava. "I believe in my team, I know they'll win this for Buffalo, as a whole."
"Bring it. We got this," Green said. "I feel like we've definitely seen the best of what the Dolphins have to bring, and we are way better than that. We're going to the Super Bowl this year, and we're probably playing the Eagles. So let's go!"