Hamil wakes from coma: 'Did we win?'

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has shown "remarkable improvement" and is awake and communicating, three days after suffering cardiac arrest during an NFL game, the team and doctors said Thursday.

"It's not only that the lights are on, but we know that he's home. It appears that all cylinders are firing within his brain. Hamlin remains in critical condition on a ventilator and is unable to speak, but he has been able to communicate in writing” doctor Timothy Pritts of the University Of Cincinnati Medical Center said in a video news conference.

NFL player in 'critical condition' after collapsing on field

When the 24-year-old player first woke up, he asked whether the Bills won Monday's game against the Bengals in Cincinnati -- a contest that was called off after Hamlin's terrifying collapse and subsequent efforts to revive him on the field.

"The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life," Pritts said.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, in a sometimes emotional press conference alongside coach Sean McDermott later Thursday, was moved at Hamlin's concern for his team.

"As teammates, you love hearing that response, that the first thing on his mind wasn't 'poor me,' it was 'how are my teammates doing, did we win this game. For Damar to go through that and come out the other side and still think about his teammates... but that's Damar, that's who he is?'" Allen said.

Allen and McDermott said Bills players and staff -- and those from teams around the league -- were still processing the events of Monday night, which unfolded before a television audience of millions. Most of the Bills players and staff have been waiting anxiously back in Buffalo for news on Hamlin's progress. Hamlin, a defensive back, collapsed after taking a hard hit in the chest while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of the nationally televised game in Cincinnati. Medical staff who found he didn't have a pulse restored Hamlin's heartbeat on the field using manual CPR and defibrillators, and he was hospitalized in critical condition. Players and personnel from both teams were clearly stunned, with some crying and praying as doctors treated him.

The NFL announced on Thursday that it was cancelling the Bills-Bengals game, saying the decision came after consultation with both teams and the NFL players' union. Meanwhile, the Bills are preparing to host the New England Patriots on Sunday in their final regular-season game. Allen acknowledged that getting back to focusing on football wasn't easy, but words from Hamlin's father, Mario, and the encouraging news of their teammate's progress made it easier.

© Agence France-Presse