SAD NEWS: The Buffalo Bills’ head coach was found dead.

SAD NEWS: The Buffalo Bills’ head coach was found dead.

Sean McDermott, head coach of the Buffalo Bills, stated that the team owes it to Damar Hamlin to face the New England Patriots on Sunday and praised ‘hero’ trainer Denny Kellington following the safety’s cardiac arrest on Monday.

Hamlin, 24, is ‘awake’ and has made’substantial improvement’ since suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Denny Kellington, a Bills assistant trainer, performed CPR on Hamlin on the field after he collapsed following a hit on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins before the safety was taken to the hospital.

McDermott praised the assistant trainer as a’real hero’ during the Bills’ first media availability since the incident.

‘To put it in context, Denny is one of our assistant trainers,’ McDermott said. ‘Their team, like ours, goes through mock exercises for these kinds of things, but we’re not there. As they say, practice makes perfect.

‘It’s nothing short of amazing for an assistant to find himself in that position and take charge and step up like he did,’ he continued, paying tribute to the assistant. ‘You talk about a true leader and a true hero for saving Damar’s life. I admire his fortitude.’

Although the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals will not be rescheduled, the team will play the New England Patriots at 1pm Sunday as part of the NFL’s Week 18 schedule.

When asked why his team has to play this weekend, McDermott insisted that they owe it to their teammate, revealing that Hamlin’s father, Mario, had told them it is what his son would want.

‘I feel strongly that, as his father Mario had mentioned to us, this is what Damar would have wanted,’ he said. That is something we owe to Damar and his family.’

Hamlin was sedated after his on-field resuscitation on Monday, but he started communicating with doctors in writing on Wednesday because his verbal communication is still hampered by his breathing tube.

The 24-year-old defensive back even inquired about the outcome of Monday’s game, which was called off indefinitely after he collapsed in the first quarter.

Buffalo quarterback Allen, who sat alongside his coach, said it was impossible to deny Hamlin’s father’s request to ‘charge forward,’ and that it will be easier to play after Thursday’s positive update.

‘Mario [Hamlin, Damar’s father] didn’t tell us, he demanded we go out there and charge forward,’ he explained.

‘After today’s news, we’ll be playing with lighter hearts. There have been many tears. The guys are pumped and can’t wait to get out there.’

Allen also did not appear surprised at Hamlin’s question of the result as he said he and his teammates ‘loved’ hearing it as he showed what type of person the safety is.

‘As teammates you love hearing that response,’ he began, ‘that the first thing on his mind wasn’t “poor me”, it was “how are my teammates doing and did we win the game?”

‘Guys love each other, we really do. For Damar to go through that and to come out on the other side and still think of his teammates, that’s Damar, that’s how he really is.’

Hamlin’s jersey became one of the highest selling in any sport on Fanatics.com following the traumatic incident on Monday night with all proceeds from sales to be donated to his charitable toy drive.

Allen said he expected to see a lot of No. 3 jerseys in the crowd during the Bills’ home game Sunday as he admitted taking to the field will be ‘surreal’.

[I’m expecting] A lot of three jerseys, three signs… it’ll be a little surreal,’ he said. ‘Home, last week of the season, there’s some stuff we still need to talk about as a team and get through, but we’re going to keep moving forward.’

McDermott took the time to thank a number of people from the first responders to the Bengals organization, who the Bills faced in a pivotal game on Monday Night Football.

‘I’d like to thank a number of people,’ he began. ‘There have been a number of people involved and if we leave someone out, we apologize. We’d like to thank the first responders, the staff, doctors and nurses at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

‘I’d also like to thank the entire Bengals organization, their ownership, and specifically Zac Taylor, their staff, their players, for going above and beyond. The officiating crew on the field, led by Sean Smith, and the way they handled that situation with extreme poise, certainly helped.’

McDermott further added praise in particular for ‘tremendous’ Bengals coach Zac Taylor.

On Wednesday, Taylor opened up on the grave conversation he had with McDermott after deciding to go over to the Bills’ sideline and talk with his counterpart instead of ‘playing telephone’ following the scary ordeal.