How Well Do Teams Perform Coming Out Of Their Bye Week?

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How well do teams play coming out of their bye week? That might be something you need to know if you are Tony Soprano and planning to wager five large on the Jets. At those stakes, you are looking for every edge you can find.

Of course, if he only knew that Mark Sanchez was getting ready to throw up five interceptions against the Buffalo Bills' defense, he could have stayed home and had a heart-to-heart discussion with his son. Or he could have done some paperwork at the club.... or not.

This article will take a closer look at how well NFL teams do coming out of their bye week in the schedule. So far in the 2009 season, 24 teams have played following their bye week.

Out of those 24 teams, the record stands at 14-10, which is a .580 winning percentage. Not terrible, but not something that makes you sit up in your chair and go "Wow" either.

Twenty times so far a team came off of their bye week to face a team that has just played the week before. In those 20 games, the record was 12-8, which is slightly better winning percentage of .600.

The NFL schedule maker decided to pull a fast one this year as he scheduled two games in Week Eight, Denver at Baltimore, and Jacksonville at Tennessee, where both teams were coming off of their bye week. Talk about overkill, or overly prepared!

Schedule maker was probably laughing to himself like crazy when he conceived of that brain storm.

What happens when teams are coming off of the bye week and playing at home, you ask? Record then jumps to 11-3, which is a winning percentage of .780. Now that is some heady stuff. Are you listening, Tony?

Coming off the bye, and packing up your suitcase for a road trip results in a 3-7 record, not exactly a positive trend. It is still hard to win on the road. Doesn't matter if you are rested or not.

We still have eight teams left to play a game after their bye week to wrap up this year's results.

Before we move on, I want to come back and talk a little more about that shifty NFL schedule maker some more. It is now time to ask this question: Is there a benefit to having an extra week of practice when you play in the NFL?

Let's take that question one step further. If the answer to the question was yes, we can then also assume that it would be a detriment to the opponent when you are facing a team that hasn't played in two weeks.

Get out your pen and paper, and look at the 2009 NFL schedule.

All of these teams had the misfortune of facing a NFL team coming off their bye week three times this season: Tennessee, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Denver, and Atlanta.

Facing two opponents after their bye week this year: Houston, Detroit, St. Louis, and New Orleans.

Facing one opponent after a two week respit: San Francisco, Tampa Bay, New York Giants, Green Bay, Kansas City, New England, Washington, Dallas, and Miami.

Now here is the for shame list, facing no teams that were coming off of their bye week: Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, Minnesota, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Carolina, New York Jets, Arizona, Buffalo, Seattle, Chicago, San Diego, and Oakland.

Makes you wonder why the schedule maker couldn't find a way to balance this out a little better, doesn't it?

One rather odd piece of bye week trivia was that under Dick Jauron, the Buffalo Bills have won all three games following their bye. Based on his overall record, I am guessing that Jauron wished there were more byes in the schedule.

His wounded defense could use the rest, and his won/loss record could take some positive bumps. If he figures out a way to contain Chris Johnson and the Bills can beat Tennessee, I figure that coaches will be soliciting him for advice next year on how to prepare after the bye week.

Chances are Jauron will be seeking another job next season as things stand now. Any graduate of an Ivy League school should be well qualified to take on consulting gigs, right?

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