Bengals HC Zac Taylor shares his perspective on Monday night

The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals spoke to media for the first time since Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in a medical emergency that has left him in critical condition. Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor spoke to media today, and revealed a lot of the thought process in postponing the game.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Taylor saw how concerned Bills players were in the wake of Hamlin’s medical emergency, and a conversation between he and Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided all the evidence he needed to make sure this game didn’t continue.

Taylor himself said that he’s never seen anything like what happened on Monday. “It’s different when you’re on the field,” Taylor said (via Buffalo News’ Katherine Fitzgerald). “And you can see the expressions and feel the moment. ... That part was hard to process in real time.”

Taylor said continuing the game after Hamlin was taken off the field never crossed the mind of the coaches or players, and that McDermott was the one leading the group to get the game postponed.

Taylor also went on to praise the medical and training staffs for their response on Monday night.

The coaches being able to move and mobilize so quickly in the face of extreme adversity is so impressive. McDermott and Taylor deserve all the credit that they’re being given, especially when there were reports both broadcasted by Joe Buck during the telecast and reported after the game that officials and the NFL wanted the game to continue after a five minute warmup period.

Both coaches were able to read the emotions on their players’ faces and make the correct decision to not continue in this game. Much respect to Taylor, McDermott and both Bills and Bengals players during what had to have been the roughest moments of their entire careers.