NFL
What NFL teams have a bye in Week 5 of the 2024 season?
For the first time in the 2024 NFL regular season, some teams won’t be in action in Week 5.
Four teams won’t be in action in Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season, as the league’s annual series of bye weeks comes into play.
What is a bye week?
Every regular season, the 32 franchises in the NFL are each given one weekend off. In 2024, bye weeks start in the fifth round of games - which are to be played between Thursday October 3 and Monday October 7 - and run until Week 14, in early December.
In total, there will be eight bye weeks in 2024; in Weeks 8 and 13, no teams will be given a rest. Varying numbers of teams will sit out the action in each bye week - from just two in Weeks 7 and 9, to as many as six in Weeks 12 and 14.
Knowing which team has a bye week is very important information for NFL Fantasy Football players. On each matchday, after all, it’s imperative they avoid picking individuals who aren’t actually going to be involved.
Who has a bye week in Week 5?
The Detroit Lions (3-1)
The Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)
The Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
The Tennessee Titans (1-3)
What are bye weeks for?
Introduced in the NFL in 1990, the bye week offers teams a chance to regroup mid-season. The break gives a franchise’s medical staff a window in which to get injured players back to fitness, while the coaches get a bit more time to drill their game plan into the squad - and, if need be, work on strategic alterations.
From NFL administrators’ point of view, meanwhile, there are financial incentives to the bye week model, which currently sees teams play 17 regular-season games across 18 matchdays. By stretching the season out across more weeks, the league can up its television revenue, as it provides networks with more in-season broadcasting time.
Speaking in February 1990, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the Associated Press of the need to “ease the player injury factor, and reduce team travel burdens”, and noted that television revenue was “an obvious factor” in the decision to introduce bye weeks.
Tagliabue also explained that, by spacing out regular-season fixtures, the NFL could guard against “possible over-exposure of our sport”.
See also
Who do the 2024 Week 5 bye week teams play next?
All four teams that aren’t involved in Week 5 will be back in action on Sunday October 13. The Lions travel to Texas for a Week 6 clash with the Dallas Cowboys, and the Chargers head to Colorado to meet the Denver Broncos. The Eagles and the Titans, meanwhile, both have home games. Philadelphia welcome the Cleveland Browns to Lincoln Financial Field, and Tennessee host the Indianapolis Colts.