The NFL season may be 18 weeks long, but each team only plays 17 games. That’s because every team gets one “bye week” each season. For the newer football fans out there who may be first learning the game, you may have some questions. What are NFL bye weeks, how do they work, and when do we know the schedule?
NFL Bye Weeks Schedule
In addition to scheduling each team’s 17 games, the NFL also must schedule each team’s bye week. Here is the list of bye weeks for all 32 teams for the 2023 season.
Week 5
Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 6
Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 7
Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans
Week 8
None
Week 9
Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers
Week 10
Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 11
Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints
Week 12
None
Week 13
Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants
Week 14
Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders
NFL Bye Weeks FAQ
What Are NFL Bye Weeks?
Much like a bye in the NFL playoffs or in any sort of tournament, a bye week is a week in which an NFL team does not play. In simplest terms, it’s a week off.
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Each season, every NFL team gets one week off during the 18-week season. Prior to the league’s expansion from 16 games to 17 games, there were rumors the NFL might add a second bye week. However, that wound up not being the case.
Why Do NFL Teams Have Bye Weeks?
The NFL is a grueling sport. It is without question the most physically taxing team sport. There is a reason every other major sport has teams play multiple games a week, while the NFL schedules each team for just one.
MORE: 2023 NFL Team By Team Schedules
Bye weeks serve to provide each team with a bit of a reset at some point during the season. The week off helps players get rest and get healthy. It also provides players with an opportunity to take a mental break from the game for a few days.
How Many Teams Can Be on a Bye at the Same Time?
The number of teams on bye each week varies. Obviously, there must be an even number of teams on bye each week. There can be as few as just two or as many as six.
When Do NFL Bye Weeks Start?
The earliest the NFL has scheduled bye weeks is in Week 4. However, in 2021 and 2022, byes didn’t start until Week 6. This year, the NFL scheduled bye weeks in Week 5.
When Do NFL Bye Weeks End?
The latest the NFL will schedule a bye week is in Week 14. Previously, byes would stop in Week 13, but with the expansion to 17 games, the NFL pushed the final set of bye weeks back a week.
In 2022, a whopping six teams were on bye in Week 14, which was a nightmare for fantasy football players, as Week 14 is the final week of the fantasy regular season.
Does Every Team Have a Bye Week?
As you likely surmised, the answer to this question is “yes.” It would be quite unfair if some teams had to play 17 consecutive weeks while others enjoyed a week off during the season. Each NFL team has one bye week between Weeks 6 and 14 every season.
Do Bye Weeks Change Each Year?
Yes. No two NFL bye week schedules have been or will ever be the same. The NFL schedule is an incredibly complex project that must account for dozens of different factors. Figuring out where to place bye weeks each season is just one of many different things the schedule-makers need to reconcile.
As long as each team receives one bye week between Weeks 6 and 14, that requirement is taken care of. When that bye week is for each team can change every season.