Hurricane postpones Dolphins’ opener

Miami, Tampa Bay to play Nov. 19

MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the season with a hurricane-imposed bye.

Their opener scheduled for Sunday was postponed by the NFL until Nov. 19 because of Hurricane Irma.

“This is bigger than football,” Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston said. “I just want everyone to be safe. Football is not important right now.”

Switching the game to Week 11 was possible because that had been a bye week for both teams. NFL officials earlier announced the game would not be played in Miami this week. The league also decided against playing this weekend at a neutral site, perhaps in Pennsylvania.

“I just don’t think that’s feasible, whether I would have liked that or not,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said. “I don’t think you could ask all the people who would have had to travel on both teams to say: ‘Hey, leave your families in the hurricane and let’s go play a game in Pittsburgh.’ I just don’t think that’s feasible.”

Irma is forecast to threaten much of Florida beginning this weekend.

“The No. 1 thing any of us should be thinking about is the safety of everyone involved,” Koetter said. “It’s a natural disaster. Football takes a back seat.”

Still, the scheduling situation prompted extensive discussions and speculation before the decision. Both teams resisted switching to Nov. 19 because it means playing the entire season without a break.