Screw analytics: Damar Hamlin's interception is everything he deserved and then some

Sunday marked a little over two years to the day that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin fought tooth and nail to return to the field, in the process becoming one of the most inspirational sports stories in recent memory.

So it was only fitting that, with his Bills well on their way to a 31-7 Wild Card Round win over the Denver Broncos, it was Hamlin who appeared to come up with an interception late in the fourth quarter to salt the game away for good. And it was even more fitting that he, all of his teammates and a soldout crowd soaked in the moment.

Sure, the play was eventually overturned to an incompletion after review, but who cares? A player who's been through hell and back getting to celebrate with the fan base that stood by him every step of the way? That's about as feel-good as feel-good gets — except on the internet in 2025, where you can find haters for just about anything.

Hating on Damar Hamlin for interception celebration is as pathetic as it gets

Almost immediately after Hamlin's interception was wiped away, people started to chirp. Oh, it didn't even stand! The game was already over! It was fourth down, so it actually would've cost his team field position!

To which we can only say: If you find yourself this far into the weeds about a play in which a man who died on a football field came back and experienced a moment of triumph, you need to reevaluate every choice you've made that brought you to this point. Who is this hurting, exactly? The game was already in hand, and either way, the Bills were set to take possession of the ball and run out the clock. This is something you see plenty of players and teams do all the time when the outcome becomes more or less assured, especially in the playoffs.

And anyway, isn't a football debate; no one is saying that Hamlin should've been an All-Pro this season, or that he singlehandedly won the game for his team. This is a small moment of humanity amid a violent game, a chance for someone who's been through more adversity than most of us could possibly imagine to join in community with the people who helped him through it. Not even the most irony-poisoned among us should be rolling our eyes at that.