Buccaneers at Dolphins postponed to Week 11

The NFL has announced that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins Week 1 contest will be postponed due to concerns over Hurricane Irma. The game will now be played in Week 11, when both teams had been scheduled to have their bye weeks.

This was not the preferred solution for the two clubs, who would have rather moved the game to a neutral site in order to avoid playing in 16 straight weeks. The Dolphins had finally received a late season bye, something that had not happened for several seasons, and now that bye week is essentially Week 1.

The biggest concern is obviously the people of South Florida and that takes precedence over any football game.

The league’s official statement reads:

Due to the potential impact of Hurricane Irma on South Florida, the Miami Dolphins home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium, will instead be played there in Week 11 on Sunday, November 19, the NFL announced today.

Week 11 was previously an open date for both clubs.

The NFL announced yesterday that in the interest of public safety in light of the continuing state of emergency, the league, in consultation with state and local officials as well as both clubs, would not play an NFL game in South Florida this week.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the impacted area.