Could early bye weeks be a good thing? Why there's an advantage and how six teams are approaching them

"It was Week 10 of the 2024 season, and Macdonald, a first-time head coach after two years as the defensive mastermind in Baltimore, scheduled a meeting with all three of his coordinators and assistant head coach Leslie Frazier. This was early in the first bye week of Macdonald's tenure, and he made clear the Seahawks were about to "self-scout everything we're doing," as one source with direct knowledge of the meeting recalled."

"The coaches assessed where the team was and concluded they must treat the bye like it's the offseason, evaluating everything from pace of play to how they practiced. "You can reset your team [during the bye] if you do it the right way," the source said. "As long as you have no pride about what you thought you were." What followed was a four-game winning streak to catalyze a late playoff push that ultimately fell short."

The Seattle Seahawks, after losing three straight, used their Week 10 bye to self-scout and reset practices, pace and personnel alignment. Mike Macdonald convened coordinators and assistant head coach Leslie Frazier to treat the bye like an offseason and evaluate everything from tempo to practice methods. The staff slowed third-down tempo on offense to read defenses and changed linebacker starters, inserting Ernest Jones IV and rookie Tyrice Knight to better fit the scheme. Those adjustments produced a four-game winning streak that fueled a late playoff push but ultimately fell short. Several other NFL teams also used bye weeks strategically.

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