What NFL teams have a bye in Week 6?

The NFL regular season can be grueling for its players.

And the only reprieve from the week-in-week-out grind that is playing professional football is the annual bye week – something NFL schedule makers implemented to maximize each team’s rest and recovery. While fans of the fantasy game might lament the missed points opportunity, this time allows players a much needed break. 

Four NFL teams are on bye in Week 6, let’s look at who they are when the other 28 football teams will go on bye during the 2022 regular season: 

What teams have a bye week in Week 6?

The Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans kick off a slate of bye weeks this upcoming weekend. Fans of the four teams will have to wait until Week 7 for their return to action. 

Complete bye week schedule for 2022 NFL regular season

• Week 6: Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans
• Week 7: Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles
• Week 8: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers
• Week 9: Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers
• Week 10: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, New York Jets
• Week 11: Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Week 13: Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers
• Week 14: Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders

New England Patriots

Find the latest New England Patriots news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.

New England Patriots 13 hours ago

How will Vrabel fill out coaching staff? Updates on potential hires

Sports Sunday 10 hours ago

Ted Johnson: Why Chip Kelly is a better Pats OC option than McDaniels

When did the NFL first institute bye weeks?

The NFL bye week is now 27 years old and a staple of the league schedule. 

Prior to 1990, the NFL jammed 16 games into 16 weeks for wall-to-wall coverage. A combination of scheduling conflicts, travel complications, potential television earnings from an extended season and player injury all factored into the league’s decision to extend the season to 17 weeks. The NFL briefly added a second bye week for the 1992 and 1993 season, but quickly dropped back to one per season.   

Last season, the NFL expanded once again to 17 games in 18 weeks, prompting some -- including 49ers star tight end George Kittle -- to suggest a return to the second bye week. 

When is the New England Patriots’ bye week?

The Patriots aren’t going to get any help when it comes to Mac Jones’ return from the NFL schedule makers. 

They’ve still got four weeks of action before their bye week in Week 10. The good news for Bill Belichick and backup quarterback Bailey Zappe is that this next slate of games are all winnable games -- even with Jones sidelined. 

Their toughest matchup is arguably this week on the road against the 2-3 Cleveland Browns. After that they host two home games against the less-than-inspiring Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts and head to MetLife stadium for a matchup with the promising -- but inconsistent -- New York Jets. 

Jones suffered a high ankle sprain during the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He missed the team’s 29-0 routing of the Detroit Lions and remained listed as “doubtful” on the injury report. His return remains to be seen, but the Patriots will certainly be ready for that Week 10 bye week. 

How do bye weeks impact fantasy football?

Bye weeks are a fact of life in the NFL, but that’s no excuse to be caught sleeping in your fantasy league. 

It’s pretty simple -- if a player can’t play in real football, they can’t earn points in fantasy football. Therefore, most managers recommend benching players on a bye week. Make sure you get those lineups in on time!