WASHINGTON: The NFL announced that the Monday night game against the Bengals had been postponed after safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and was taken to a Cincinnati hospital where he is in "critical condition."
Hamlin stood up during a tackle about halfway through the first quarter, then fell to the ground.
He was treated for more than 30 minutes, and ESPN reported that he had been given CPR.
During the treatment, players from both NFL teams gathered around Hamlin, with some openly weeping and others kneeling to pray.
Television coverage diverted from the field scene while the Cincinnati crowd remained silent.
According to ESPN, the 24-year-old Hamlin was taken off a stretcher and given oxygen as he left, and his family, who were watching the game, joined him in the ambulance.
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center is about four miles (six kilometers) away, according to reports.
At first, reports suggested that the game would resume following a five-minute warm-up after the ambulance left the field.
Players were instructed to go to the locker room after the coaches of the two teams met with the officials, and the game was declared "temporarily suspended."
The NFL then released a statement stating that league commissioner Roger Goodell had informed Hamlin of the condition and that the game had been postponed.
During the wait for a decision, ESPN analyst Booger McFarland, a former NFL player, had called for the league to end the game. https://t.co/Q5xPxUZpxH
"They are concerned about one thing, the health and safety of this young man," he stated. "Nobody is concerned about football right now one."
According to the footage, Hamlin had been struck in the upper chest area.
Concussion injuries to players caused by head hits have been a growing concern in the NFL, one of the most violent team sports, in recent years.