Over the weekend, Damar Hamlin made an emotional return to Highmark Stadium, but unless you were up close to him, you didn’t actually see his face.
Emotions were understandably high as the Bills took the field against the Bengals for the first time since Hamlin’s startling collapse during the first quarter of their Week 17 matchup at Paycor Stadium.
Hamlin was brought into the stadium on a Bills’ cart, but his face was completely covered.
The crowd at Highmark Stadium erupted when an image of the recovering Hamlin filled the screens near the end of the game’s first half. Fans turned toward the glass-enclosed suite and cheered. However, it was snowing and you still couldn’t see his face. There was a camera crew inside the suite he was in, and yet still no image of his face.
Hamlin had not been seen in public since the Bills and Bengals last met on Jan. 2 in a game that came to an abrupt halt and was eventually canceled after Hamlin’s collapse on the field in the first quarter.
Something about his face not being shown had fans pondering what was going on.
His presence did not help his team as the Bills went on to lose 27-10. Bills quarterback Josh Allen described his presence as “a warm feeling.
“Obviously, we wanted to play for him … We just ran into a team that played better than us tonight,” Allen said after the loss.
