Several ATS favorites coming off byes offer betting value in Week 10.
Most weeks, we turn to contrarian strategies in order to find undervalued teams and profitable wagering opportunities within the NFL betting market. There are also a handful of successful systems we've used in the past that don't necessarily fit under the contrarian betting umbrella, but instead focus on answering "real-world questions." I've touched on this a bit over the course of the season, but many of the best betting systems are not found while specifically researching for new strategies, but instead are derived from simply asking questions regarding general, high-level concepts.
Insider PickCenter

Wondering which side to take? Check out PickCenter and do your research before making that critical decision.
PickCenter
For example, NFL analysts and fantasy football experts consistently reference the performance of teams and players coming off bye weeks and the expectation that extra rest is beneficial. However, rarely is this concept supported with statistics or facts.
As a result, I turned to our
Bet Labs software to determine how bye weeks have historically affected against-the-spread (ATS) results. While performing this research, I developed an NFL betting system with a 60.1 percent ATS win rate (since 2003) and three plays for this week's games.
I started with the theory that teams getting an extra week to regroup, rest and prepare for their upcoming opponent will outperform expectations, resulting in profitable ATS records.
The table below summarizes the results:
Regular-season ATS record of NFL teams coming off a bye, since 2003 Teams ATS Record Units Won ROI All teams 171-144 (54.3 percent) +17.87 units +5.7 percent * Closing lines from Pinnacle were used to determine ATS records, units won and ROI above.
** Units Won is the amount of money a betting system has won or lost after factoring in the vig. In the example above, a $100 bettor would have won $1,787 ($100 x 17.87 units) following the system.
*** To calculate ROI, the return of an investment (or in this case, the profit earned from a sports betting system) is divided by the cost of the investment.
Note: For the purposes of the analysis above, I removed duplicate matches from our system results. For example, if two teams coming off byes play each other, the result of that game is not included in our system record since it will always produce a 1-1 ATS record.
With all teams coming off byes producing a solid 54.3 percent ATS win rate, I then compared the performance of underdogs and favorites and determined that focusing solely on favorites improves the ATS win rate of our system to 60.1 percent.
The following table breaks down these results:
Regular-season ATS record of NFL teams coming off a bye, since 2003 Teams ATS Record Units Won ROI Underdogs 75-88 (46.0 percent) -17.23 units -10.6 percent Favorites 116-77 (60.1 percent) +33.68 units +17.4 percent
Why does this work?As shown in the analysis above, there seems to be a clear correlation between bye weeks and profitable ATS performance. In this instance, the simplest reasoning seems to be the best. In a violent game like professional football, giving players an off week to rest and coaches more time to game plan allows these teams to outperform expectations.
Furthermore, there is a major difference in ATS performance when separating favorites from underdogs. It's reasonable to assume that the favored team is expected to be better than its opponent in that matchup. Superior teams are comprised of more talented players and effective coaches, which potentially leads to even better ATS performance when given extra time to prepare.
Week 10 system matches
Note: All odds info courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas Hotel.
Detroit Lions (-3) vs. Miami Dolphins
Not only does this game fit our Week 10 betting system, but it also offers the potential for contrarian betting value following Miami's beatdown of San Diego. At the time of publication, the spread betting percentages are split relatively evenly and the Dolphins' performance last week should keep them reasonably balanced throughout the week.
We'll go ahead and lay the points with Detroit as our first play of the week.
Atlanta Falcons (-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has appeared frequently in our column so far this season, but this week we're turning the tables and taking the Falcons as small road favorites. For the record, this is a huge public play, with Atlanta currently receiving 90 percent of all spread action, but we'll rely on the analysis above and take a rested
Matt Ryan,
Julio Jones and Co. to basically win this game straight up.
Please note that while the lines referenced in weekly "system matches" reflect point spreads posted at Westgate Las Vegas Hotel, there are still plenty of offshore and Las Vegas sportsbooks offering this game as a pick. We'll use the Westgate's minus-1 when grading this play but encourage all readers to visit ESPN Chalk's
Live Odds page to shop for the best line before taking this or any other side.
Green Bay Packers (-7) vs. Chicago Bears
This matchup differs from our first two plays in that both Green Bay and Chicago are coming off bye weeks. In our analysis, we highlighted the difference in ATS records between favorites and underdogs, which is why the Packers fit this system.
Out of curiosity, I dug deeper to determine ATS results when both teams in a single matchup are coming off byes. While the sample is small, favorites in these scenarios are 15-6 (71.4 percent) ATS since 2003, giving us the confidence to lay a touchdown with the Packers in this game.