ORCHARD PARK — All week, the Bills prayed for Damar Hamlin.

On Sunday, they played for him.

And oh what a powerful, emotionally charged day it was with love pouring out from all corners of Highmark Stadium and from every pore of every fan filling the furthest, highest, steepest corners of the old football yard.

This is a Buffalo franchise that has gone to four Super Bowls, produced Hall of Fame players, been a part of its fair share of historic events in the NFL and is a current Super Bowl favorite.

But this day, because of what it stood for — the Bills and their fans honoring their beloved 24-year-old safety who collapsed on Monday night in Cincinnati and nearly died in cardiac arrest before the Bills medical staff quickly administering CPR on the field saved his life — was on a completely different emotional level.

The result — Bills 35, Patriots 23 — even though it secured the Bills the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC, was insignificant.

This day was all about love for No. 3, Hamlin’s Buffalo jersey number, and the powerful three-hour therapy session it became for the Bills’ players and their fans. It felt like the entire place opened its collective arms to hug Hamlin, who’s still in a hospital bed in Cincinnati in critical condition.

Everywhere there was love for No. 3. You saw it on homemade signs, jerseys, pins, scoreboards, banners, face stickers and the flags Bills players carried onto the field for introductions and waved wildly.

There was love for No. 3 before the game at the Twin Oak Motel parking lot a few thousand yards away from the stadium, where one group has been tailgating in the same place for 30 years.

It was there where Mary Wilson, the widow of previous Bills owner Ralph Wilson, is a regular visitor. She flies up from her home in Florida for every home game and drives around in her custom blue PT Cruiser with the Bills logo emblazoned across the doors and on the headrests.

“If somebody wasn’t in love with the Bills before, they are now,’’ Mary Wilson said. “Ralph would have been so proud of this team, from [owner] Terry Pegula all the way down to Sean [McDermott, the head coach], Brandon [Beane, the GM] … and how about our quarterback (Josh Allen)?

“There’s no way in the world I would miss being here today. It brings you up to a different level. It’s not just a game. All these guys really care about each other.’’

Scott Marshall, a Lewiston native who now lives in Montclair, N.J., and flies to every home game, was at the Bengals game Monday night and watched in horror as Hamlin lay on the turf being administered CPR.

“It was pretty awful,’’ Marshall said. “I was a little traumatized. What struck me was I’d never been anywhere where that many people were so quiet. It was surreal. It’s been such a tumultuous year for Buffalo.’’

There was the mass shooting spree at a local supermarket, more recently a deadly snowstorm that claimed some 50 lives. And now Hamlin.

“We’ve just been affected by so much, and to have that happen to Damar it was hard not to be like, ‘Is this ever going to end?’ ’’ Marshall said. “There was no way I wasn’t going to be here today.’’

There was love for No. 3 at Section 333 inside the stadium where Ed Strebel, an Orchard Park native, has been manning the same spot for 15 years, not realizing until Sunday the poignancy of his section number.

“All week long, my heart’s been in my throat,’’ Strebel said through tears. “I’ve had tears in my eyes all week, and I don’t tear up easily.’’

There was love for No. 3 in Section 137, Row 34, Seat 11, where Jeffrey Vellner was taking in the game sitting next to me in the stands.

“A lot of us look to football for an escape, and then that escape is where you got this trauma from,’’ Vellner said. “It was just a very uneasy feeling this week wondering how Damar was doing. Going to work the next day, it was just very quiet. We actually had to cancel meetings at work the next day, because people just weren’t in the right mindset to go through them.’’

Vellner doesn’t have season tickets, but he said, “Today was a day you had to be here with everyone to experience this.’’

Frank LoTempio, a lawyer from Amherst, referencing the toll the supermarket shooting and the deadly snowstorm took on the community, said, “The best part of this town is the resiliency of this town. This town has grit. We may not be the smartest people in the world, we may not be the most skilled people in the world, but we are resilient.’’

There was love for No. 3 inside the Bills Store just outside the stadium, where Katie Hochadel was manning the cash register and recalled how going to work the day after Hamlin’s injury was “very heavy,’’ how she “felt lost.’’

“This city is a family, and I wouldn’t want to be any part of any other family,’’ she said.

There was love for No. 3 from Gene Kershner and his wife, Shaena, who used to work with the Bills on their marketing team.

“Every meeting that I’ve been in and every conversation I’ve had with anyone this week has circled back to Damar and how uplifting it was he was awake,’’ Gene Kershner said. “The whole feeling of the city changed at that moment. You could see it and feel it. Everyone needed it.’’

Said Shaena Kershner: “We all collectively held our breath longer than we wanted to, and when we heard that Damar could communicate with the team and that his brain was functioning then we could let out that collective breath. Today is a celebration of that.’’