NFL officially postpones Miami Dolphins week one game
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins will not play this weekend. The NFL has announced that the game between Miami and the Buccaneers will be postponed.
The news has been expected over the past two days as Hurricane Irma gained strength and moved towards South Florida. The Dolphins announced Tuesday afternoon that there would be no game in Miami this week. Now the NFL has announced there will be no game period.
The game will be rescheduled to November 19th in week 11. The two clubs share a fortuitous bye week which made the decision a lot easier. The trio of the Dolphins, Buc’s, and the NFL had been looking at alternative locations.
A statement from the NFL was released a short time ago.
"TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS-MIAMI DOLPHINS GAME TO BE PLAYED IN WEEK 11 ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19Due 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."
The Dolphins and the Buccaneers will now have their bye week in week one and then play 16 games in a row or more if they make the post-season. It is not the first time Miami has had an opening weekend game re-scheduled. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew forced the league to cancel the Dolphins opener against the Patriots. Both teams shared a bye week that season and it was played then. Miami finished the season 11-5.
This storm has the potential to be devastating. It has sustained winds of over 180 miles per hour and while a definitive track is not known, Miami will be impacted regardless of where the storm goes.
With the game now cancelled the Dolphins players and their families can start the task of evacuating if need be without the worries of having to leave to play football. It was a smart move by the NFL even if it puts the two clubs at a disadvantage later in the year.
This was the Dolphins first late season bye week since 2004 when they took the ninth week off. At the time week nine was the latest Miami had a bye week. It will remain that way again this year.