Sean McDermott set the tone for the response to Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, according to Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter of Monday's game against the Bengals following a collision with wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field, before being rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he has remained in critical condition.
An unprecedented incident saw the NFL community rally around Hamlin, although the procedure in the immediate aftermath was understandably unclear.
That was where Bills coach McDermott came in, Taylor has revealed, with his focus on supporting Hamlin as the game was suspended.
"I always knew Sean. We've never worked together, never had a meal together, but I had respect for him," Taylor said.
"Seeing the way he led his team deepened that respect for him and verified everything I thought he was about as a man."
He added: "I don't want to disclose any of the private conversations Sean and I had except this.
"When I got over there, the first thing he said was, 'I need to be at the hospital with Damar, I shouldn't be coaching this game'. That to me provides all the clarity.
"'Unprecedented' is the word that gets thrown around a lot in this situation, because that's what it is. In that moment, he really showed who he was.
"All his focus was just on Damar and being there for him, being there for his family, at the hospital.
"At that point, everything trended in the direction it needed to trend. The right decisions were made.
"I really felt Sean McDermott led in that moment. He was there for his players, he processed the right way, which was incredibly difficult, and really helped us get to the solution we needed to get to."
Purdy throws three touchdowns to lead 49ers past Seahawks
Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Deebo Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions (3-3), who moved into a tie with Seattle (3-3) for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season.
George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time. Kyle Juszczyk added a late TD run for the 49ers, and he and Kittle both celebrated their scores by leaping into the stands to embrace their wives, who were sitting together in the first row.
Matthew Wright, who joined San Francisco earlier this week to replace injured kicker Jake Moody, had a trio of first-half-field goals from 25, 41 and 35 yards.
Geno Smith passed for 312 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, and the Seahawks lost their third straight after a 3-0 start under new coach Mike Macdonald.
Purdy throws 3 touchdowns to lead 49ers past Seahawks
Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers never trailed in a 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Deebo Samuel had a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown and finished with three catches for 102 yards for the defending NFC champions (3-3), who moved into a tie with Seattle (3-3) for first place in the NFC West after an uneven start to the season.
George Kittle added five receptions for 58 yards and two scores for the 49ers, who beat the Seahawks for a sixth straight time. Kyle Juszczyk added a late TD run for the 49ers, and he and Kittle both celebrated their scores by leaping into the stands to embrace their wives, who were sitting together in the first row.
Matthew Wright, who joined San Francisco earlier this week to replace injured kicker Jake Moody, had a trio of first half-field goals from 25, 41 and 35 yards.
Geno Smith passed for 312 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, and the Seahawks lost their third straight after a 3-0 start under new coach Mike Macdonald.
Saints to start rookie QB Rattler against Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen has selected rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler to make his first regular-season NFL start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Allen confirmed Rattler as the starter on Wednesday with usual starter Derek Carr to miss at least one game because of a left oblique injury that occurred in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ 26-13 loss in Kansas City on Monday night.
The decision means that Rattler, for the time being, moves ahead of second-year pro Jake Haener on the depth chart.
Haener replaced Carr after his injury in Kansas City and also played late in a pair of lopsided victories to start the season.
“We just internally talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game he was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen said of Rattler. “He’s a rookie so we’re going to have some challenges that go along with that, but I think we’ll have a good plan for him.”
Rattler was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of last spring’s NFL draft out of South Carolina.
He will become the fifth rookie quarterback to start his season, joining Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders), Bo Nix (Broncos) and Drake Maye, who is scheduled to also make his first career start Sunday for the Patriots against Houston.
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