It is the final week of bye weeks and just four teams remain to get a week of rest before the final stretch of the regular season.
It is the final week of byes in the NFL regular season and just four teams remain that have not already had a week break in the season. The Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers represent the two NFC teams on bye in Week 11, whereas the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts will be the AFC teams on bye. Carolina will be the only team on bye this week that has a winning record.
Carolina is perhaps the only team that will truly benefit from this bye. The 49ers will miss the playoffs even if they win out for the rest of year, and the Jets and Colts would need a hundred things to go right and win out in order to stand a chance. Carolina, meanwhile, find themselves just a half-game behind the New Orleans Saints for first place in the NFC South.
Additionally, star tight end Greg Olsen might be healthy enough to come back off of IR after this bye week, giving Cam Newton back one of his best weapons for their impending Week 13 matchup against the Saints.
The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were also originally scheduled to have a bye in Week 11. However, after their Week 1 contest was canceled due to Hurricane Irma the NFL decided that their bye would retroactively be Week 1 and that the game would be rescheduled this week.
Neither team advocated this solution and it is easy to understand why; both the Dolphins and Buccaneers will play 16 straight games this season and both teams could use a week of rest perhaps more than any other team in the league. Tampa Bay is just 3-6 and are currently without starting quarterback Jameis Winston due to a shoulder injury.
Next: NFL 2017: 20 Bold predictions for Week 11
In 2016, the Buccaneers went 7-4 after their Week 6 bye after starting the season 2-3, so the importance and impact of a bye week is clearly apparent. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are now 4-5 after losing their last three games by an average differential of over 22 points. Miami, who led the AFC Wild Card race just weeks ago, has now been passed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and Buffalo Bills in the standings.