The NFL revealed their 2020 schedule for the first time this past Thursday and with the revelation of who is playing when, the sports world has unleashed a bunch of speculation regarding team records and postseason possibilities. It’s way too early to speak in certainties, but one thing we do know — pending the COVID-19 pandemic — is that the Miami Dolphins will hold a Week 11 bye week. The significance of a late bye week will be considerable if the Dolphins are able to play .500 football or better in the first 10 games of their 2020 season.
A late week of rest could potentially serve as a big boost in the team’s efforts to finish the season strong.
But the Dolphins wouldn’t know much about late-season bye weeks. The Week 11 bye in 2020 will mark just the second time since the NFL reintroduced the bye week in 1990 that the Dolphins will hold their bye after 10 games played.
The other instance came recently as well, in 2018. Those 2018 Dolphins, in Adam Gase’s final season as the head coach, entered the bye coming off a double digit loss to the Packers and choked away a late lead against the Indianapolis Colts to move to 5-6 on the year before consecutive wins against the Bills and Patriots (the Miami Miracle game) moved the Dolphins above .500 with three games to play. The rest, however, is history. That Dolphins team failed to show up over their final 3 games, falling to 7-9 and being outscored 41-100 and failing to surpass 225 yards of offense in any of their final 3 games.
Miami will hope a late bye produces a better finish in 2020 — but having more even-keeled leadership in Brian Flores should go a long way in ensuring Miami takes advantage of their late season rest to finish the season strong. And if the Dolphins don’t take advantage, perhaps the team would be better off with those late September bye weeks after all.