Jeremy FowlerOct 7, 2025, 06:00 AM ETCloseJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on X
play1:12Should the Packers really be NFC favorites over the Lions?Domonique Foxworth and Louis Riddick discuss whether the Packers or the Lions are the team to beat in the NFC North through four weeks of the season.
play1:03Vikings spoil Dillon Gabriel’s first start with win in LondonCarson Wentz comes up clutch in the end as the Vikings take down the Browns 21-17 in London.
Texans trounce short-handed Ravens on the road (1:24)The Texans go on the road and pick up a huge 44-10 win over a short-handed Ravens team. (1:24)
Should the Packers really be NFC favorites over the Lions?Domonique Foxworth and Louis Riddick discuss whether the Packers or the Lions are the team to beat in the NFC North through four weeks of the season.
Domonique Foxworth and Louis Riddick discuss whether the Packers or the Lions are the team to beat in the NFC North through four weeks of the season.
Vikings spoil Dillon Gabriel’s first start with win in LondonCarson Wentz comes up clutch in the end as the Vikings take down the Browns 21-17 in London.
THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS were reeling, losers of three straight, and Mike Macdonald set aside a few hours to find hard solutions.
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 is the power of the bye week, which several teams wielded starting last week. The Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears all had a Week 5 bye, the earliest possible under the NFL’s scheduling format. The Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of Week 6 byes.
More famously, at the urging of their offensive linemen, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni leaned into the running game coming out of a Week 5 bye, launching a Super Bowl run with Saquon Barkley. On defense, Vic Fangio benched slot corner Avonte Maddox for rookie Cooper DeJean, which worked brilliantly.
Others noticed a change in Philly — particularly teams that had played the Eagles in the first month of the season. Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris recalled how the Eagles looked “a lot different” at the end of the season than they did in a 22-21 Falcons win in Week 2 of that year.
Let’s take a closer look at how all six teams with Week 5-6 byes — the Steelers, Falcons, Bears, Packers, Texans and Vikings — will likely approach the bye.
One inherent challenge of an early bye is at the forefront for Pittsburgh, which has won three games with different styles of play.
That makes use of personnel a key component for Pittsburgh ahead of the Oct. 12 matchup with Cleveland.
Running back Kenneth Gainwell looked like a lead back in Ireland with 99 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries versus Minnesota. He has earned more time. But he’s a backup to Jaylen Warren (knee), who missed Week 4. The Steelers are hoping there are plenty of carries for both.
Perhaps the Steelers’ biggest focus on the bye was ensuring the team is peaking late in the year. Pittsburgh was 10-3 last season before dropping five straight, exposed by a 10-day scheduling gauntlet of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Kansas City.
“We ran out of gas last year,” a team source said. “That’s why it’s important for a variety of players to get game exposure so it keeps us fresh.”
One other bye-week theme: The Steelers have identified big plays via run-after-catch yards as a team strength — D.K. Metcalf and Warren both rank in the top 10 in yards after catch — and the team wants to lean into that.
Should the Packers really be NFC favorites over the Lions?
Head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that health was the priority for the bye. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (knee) and right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) are among the Green Bay starters who are banged up. Wyatt could miss some time, while Tom has been battling the oblique issue since Week 2. Starting corner Nate Hobbs underwent a knee scope in August and has started somewhat slowly as a result, making the bye timely for him.
LaFleur told ESPN in the preseason that his team needed to push through the youthful narrative, comments that feel timely now.
“These guys have experience now. They’ve played in big games,” LaFleur said. “So hopefully we can learn from those experiences. There’s no substitute for everything that comes with it. The nerves associated with that, but also understanding how important every play is when you get in those types of games.”
LaFleur has stressed that his team is connected, with a locker room full of “high-character people,” a reminder LaFleur can emphasize over the next week.
Don’t expect the Packers to make sweeping changes to scheme or personnel. Green Bay would fall into the group of self-scout-as-you-go teams as opposed to relying solely on the bye to tweak. As one person with the team put it, “evolving and figuring out who you are” is an ongoing process, from down-and-distance tendencies to red zone work.
It seems clear what head coach Ben Johnson wants to tweak during the bye: the offense. Johnson went as far as to call the Bears’ offensive operation “a mess” during his weekly availability last week, blaming himself for sending in calls late in the play clock and citing the team’s 1-for-4 clip in the red zone as concerning.
Johnson has the benefit of reinforcing his message through back-to-back wins, the ideal scenario for any coach: Win with enough bad game to humble players and guard against complacency.
“The bye week’s coming at a good time and we’re really going to be able to take a good look at ourselves and do a little soul-searching,” Johnson said.
That process began last Tuesday and Wednesday in the building, and Johnson promised to “huddle up” this week with his staff to evaluate whether “we want to pivot in certain spots” regarding personnel and scheme. So, on the bye-week-aggressiveness scale, Johnson seemed unafraid to experiment, similar to his playcalling style.
All of that’s great … but it’s also a long season, and several key starters — guard Joe Thuney, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, safety Kevin Byard III — are 32 years old. Johnson said the bye week will help the Bears with “getting our minds and our bodies back to square one.” Keeping players fresh in the winter months will be crucial, and something Johnson will likely evaluate. Whatever the Bears decide won’t be done passively.
“Everything is aggressive with Ben,” a team source said. “That’s just the way it is. He’s on every detail all of the time.”
Morris says that, as a head coach, “you always want to study yourself” as a team, which is fitting since Morris already made significant changes before his Week 5 bye.
Coming off a lifeless offensive performance versus Carolina in Week 3, Morris fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard and approved the move of offensive coordinator Zac Robinson from the press box to the sideline on game days.
The Falcons saw immediate payoff. The offense got back on track with 34 points and a 313-yard passing performance from Michael Penix Jr.
Morris — who has worked under the likes of Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan and Sean McVay — has no problem tinkering. That could be the case during the bye, which Morris considers a “nice, full-week sample” of things you can improve.
This time around, deciding whether to commit to a two-TE offense could be on Morris’ agenda. In both of Atlanta’s wins, which were convincing offensively, the Falcons played both Kyle Pitts Sr. and Charlie Woerner more than 65% of the snaps. In two losses, Pitts’ usage remained high but Woerner played 42% and 21% in Weeks 1 and 3, respectively.
One of the hottest teams in the NFL over the past two weeks would be justified in wanting to skip the bye and keep playing.
The Texans course-corrected their early-season offensive woes, pouring a combined 70 points on the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens over the past two weeks. To be sure, playing Baltimore is a confidence builder for struggling offenses everywhere. But that doesn’t discount the Texans’ progress.
Houston’s offensive line carousel appears to have stopped, settling on Aireontae Ersery, Ed Ingram, Juice Scruggs, Jake Andrews and Tytus Howard as the starting five. C.J. Stroud is regaining his Year 1 momentum, passing for three touchdowns in the first half Sunday. He seems to be settling into Nick Caley’s offense. He has found something with veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk, too, connecting on all four passing attempts to the veteran for 64 yards.
Head coach Demeco Ryans has already made changes to the defense ahead of the bye, releasing safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and relinquishing playcalling duties to defensive coordinator Matt Burke.
Personnel usage will be a worthy topic for Houston entering and coming out of the bye. Just when rookie Woody Marks looked poised for lead-back status, Nick Chubb pumped out 61 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and out-snapped Marks 27 to 24 on Sunday. The Texans have the luxury of riding the hot hand weekly. That’s a good thing since Joe Mixon doesn’t appear ready to return any time soon.
Rookie receiver Jaylin Noel is pushing for more time after turning 21 snaps into two catches for 13 yards and a touchdown.
Elsewhere on the personnel front, linebacker Christian Harris has been a healthy scratch, is in a contract year and is well-regarded by other teams for potential trade interest that might intrigue Nick Caserio, one of the NFL’s most aggressive general managers.
Vikings spoil Dillon Gabriel’s first start with win in London
Carson Wentz comes up clutch in the end as the Vikings take down the Browns 21-17 in London.
