Damar Hamlin in their hearts, the NFL pays tribute to No. 3

Damar Hamlin’s old high school teammate clutched the ball he had just intercepted, jogged to the 30-yard line, gingerly placed the pigskin at the top of the red-outlined “3,” raised his hands over his head and formed them in the shape of a heart.

The gesture by Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II might have been the most poignant moment, but it was far from the only shout-out to the Bills safety on an NFL Sunday filled with love for a stricken player whose impact is being felt across the nation.

Hamlin’s number — number “3” — was on display everywhere across the league, outlined on 30-yard lines on fields, worn on special patches on the Bills uniforms and featured on jackets and sweatshirts and even on red hearts dangling from the tailgate tents outside the Bills home stadium.

The highest volume of tribute poured in, naturally, from that parking lot in Orchard Park, New York, where Buffalo’s 35-23 victory over New England was punctuated by a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Nyheim Hines on the game’s opening play.

“OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Hamlin tweeted after the quick score.

The safety, whose recovery after his collapse on the field Monday night in Cincinnati has overtaken every NFL story line, also shared a photo of himself making a heart with his hands from his hospital bed shortly before kickoff with the text “GAMETIME!!! @BuffaloBills.”

Before that, in the lot outside of Highmark Stadium, Ryan Magnuson stood in front of a 4-x-10-foot canvas greeting card that he placed at the foot of the Bills stadium entrance for fans to sign. The message on the card: “If you get a chance to show some love today, do it. It won’t cost you nothing” — a reprise of a tweet Hamlin sent more than two years ago.

Fifteen-hundred miles away, and three hours later in Denver, the Chargers and Broncos each walked to the numbers near their respective sidelines while the No. 3s on both teams — Russell Wilson and Derwin James Jr. — met at the 50-yard-line, shook hands and kneeled in prayer.

Philly running back Miles Sanders tweeted a picture of himself, wearing a “Love For Damar” sweatshirt, and flashing the number “3” while FaceTiming with Hamlin from his hospital.

WATCH | Hamlin breathing on his own, talking to teammates:

Damar Hamlin breathing on his own, talking to teammates

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is once again breathing on his own and is even able to have conversations with teammates, following a cardiac arrest earlier this week during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals football team.

Not all was warm and fuzzy.

In Cincinnati, Bengals running back Joe Mixon celebrated a touchdown by mimicking a coin flip — the likes of which would have happened, per a late NFL contingency plan — to decide home-field advantage in a potential playoff game between the Bengals and Ravens.

Cincinnati’s 27-16 win over the Ravens on Sunday staved off that possibility. The Ravens will visit Cincy next week in the wild-card round. But saying all is back to normal in the NFL this week, or for the upcoming playoffs, still feels like a bit of a stretch.

The post-season is bound to be outfitted in “Love For Damar” sweatshirts and others embroidered with “Hamlin Strong,” the likes of which Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore during Saturday’s win over the Raiders.

Hamlin selling shirts to benefit first responders

Some may even wear shirts being sold by Hamlin himself, with proceeds going to first responders and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he’s been since Monday.

“We all won,” Hamlin tweeted Sunday after the Bills beat the Patriots. “I want to give back an ounce of the love y’all showed me. Proceeds of this shirt will go to first-responders and the UC Trauma Center. Go get yours!”

His tweet included an image of three shirts, each with Hamlin’s hands forming a heart — a hospital ID tag on his right wrist — and “Did We Win?” in big print. Hamlin’s first question after he awoke Thursday was whether the Bills had beaten the Cincinnati Bengals in the game when he collapsed on the field.

The post-season is also bound to be filled with reminders that the high stakes of these games are about more than a trophy to be awarded at the end of the Super Bowl.

It is bound to feel a little bit off. If Kansas City and Buffalo advance to the AFC title game, for instance, that game will be played on a neutral field, in a city still to be determined.

The heart of this league was beating most strongly in Buffalo on Sunday.

In the vast parking lots circling the stadium, fans wore self-made shirts and jerseys honouring Hamlin.

Sue Sonner wore a former Bills quarterback EJ Manuel’s No. 3 jersey; her husband creatively covered over Manuel’s name with Hamlin’s.

“It’s going to be very emotional. I’m taking some tissues with me for sure,” said Sonner, who is from Corning, New York, and was in the stadium in Cincinnati last Monday.

“We could see the scurry and the trauma and the panic and all of that. So very somber, very somber environment,” she said. “Now that he’s progressing and we think he’s going to be okay, now we’re excited to play football again. And hopefully he’s on the road to recovery.”