Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, given CPR after collapsing on the field

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was given CPR after collapsing on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals during Monday Night Football.

Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter and got up briefly before falling backwards to the ground.

An ambulance raced on the field to treat the safety, who was taken away in the vehicle and immobilized.

During the lengthy and scary ordeal, the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast cut to commercial on four occasions as Hamlin was receiving treatment.

Hamlin was given oxygen in the ambulance, and the game was ultimately suspended temporarily as both teams headed back to their respective locker rooms.

Unsurprisingly, both sides appeared extremely startled by the situation, with the emotions of Hamlin’s teammates Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen being shown on camera.

Emotions also ran high for ESPN’s broadcast crew, as analyst Booger McFarland offered an important bit of perspective.  

When you bring CPR out, you’re trying to help someone breathe. We’re talking life or death now,’ he said.

‘That’s real. What we do is just a game. When you involve life and death, it’s totally different.’