Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, given CPR after collapsing on the field

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was given CPR and after collapsing on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals during Monday Night Football.

Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter and got up briefly before falling backwards to the ground.

An ambulance raced on the field to treat the safety, who was taken away in the vehicle and immobilized.

Damar Hamlin collapsed backwards to the ground after making a tackle on Tee Higgins

Cam Lewis and Siran Neal of the Buffalo Bills react to teammate Damar Hamlin collapsing

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen  reacts to the injury of safety Damar Hamlin

Hamlin has a pulse but is not currently breathing on his own, according to Joe Danneman of FOX19 Now in Cincinnati. 

The report also said that the 24-year-old was treated with an automated external defibrillator, and was being transported to the University of Cincinnati hospital.

During the lengthy and scary ordeal, the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast cut to commercial on four occasions as Hamlin was receiving treatment.

Hamlin was given oxygen in the ambulance, and the game was ultimately suspended temporarily as both teams headed back to their respective locker rooms.

Unsurprisingly, both sides appeared extremely startled by the situation, with the emotions of Hamlin’s teammates Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen among those shown on camera.

Emotions also ran high for ESPN’s broadcast crew, as analyst Booger McFarland offered an important bit of perspective.  

‘When you bring CPR out, you’re trying to help someone breathe. We’re talking life or death now,’ he said.

‘That’s real. What we do is just a game. When you involve life and death, it’s totally different.’

The 24-year-old Hamlin spent five years of college at Pitt — his hometown — and appeared in 48 games for the Panthers over that span. He was a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior, was voted a team captain and was picked to play in the Senior Bowl.

He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year once Micah Hyde was lost for the season to injury.

Entering the game, the 6-foot, 200-pound Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles, and 1 1/2 sacks.