History Lesson: The Dolphins and Byes

The Miami Dolphins' five-game winning streak is the team's longest ever heading into a bye

The Miami Dolphins will be part of the last set of byes in the NFL this season when they join the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles on the sidelines for Week 14.

It's the latest bye ever for the Dolphins, topping the one in 2004 which came in Week 10 after Miami had started the season with a 1-8 record.

Here are more Dolphins bye tidbits:

-- The Dolphins have an 18-14 record in games coming off a bye. That includes wins in the first seven such games from 1990-95 (there were two byes in the 1993 season).

-- The five-game winning streak is the longest the Dolphins will carry into a bye, topping the four-game streak they had in 2000 before they came with that dramatic 40-37 overtime Monday night loss against the Jets when they blew a 30-7 fourth-quarter lead.

-- The Dolphins had a two-game winning streak into their bye in 2020, which they followed with a 28-17 victory against the Los Angeles Rams in Tua Tagovailoa's first NFL start.

-- The game against the Jets on Dec. 19 will mark the sixth time the Dolphins have faced them in their first post-bye game, by far the most for any opponent. The Dolphins are 2-3 in the previous five games, the most recent matchup a 27-23 victory in Miami when Kenyan Drake scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-quarter kickoff return.

-- The Dolphins' longest winning streak coming around a bye is six games, which they did in that 2016 season when they won their last two before their one-week break and their first four after. The Dolphins obviously can match that with a victory against the Jets on Dec. 19.

-- This will mark the third consecutive year the Dolphins play at home following the bye. They played host to Washington in 2019 after a Week 5 bye.


Published
Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.