NFL Picks Week 10: Well-Rested Teams Ready to Win After Bye

Do NFL teams benefit from their bye weeks, at least enough to improve a team's chances of winning?

Tough to say, since teams are only 12-12 after their byes so far in the 2011 season. Granted, there's more to winning than just being well-rested—the quality of the team itself, the quality of the opponent and the location of the game after certainly play a part.

All of those considerations figure to factor into victories for these three clubs, all of whom spent Week 9 maxin' and relaxin'.

Or just practicin'.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers have played far better this season than their 2-6 record would suggest.

Scratch that. The Cam Newton and Steve Smith Show has played far better than its 2-6 record would suggest.

(Much better.)

Those two will be back on full display on Sunday against the tanking Titans, who have dropped three of their last four games.

True, the same could be said of Carolina, though nobody would likely consider the Panthers to be one of the coldest teams in the league. If nothing else, at least the Panthers have an offense capable of moving the ball against just about any defense and have a 2-2 record at home this season.

Tennessee, on the other hand, can't seem to do much of anything on offense, even with Matt Hasselbeck under center and Chris Johnson carrying the ball, and has dropped two of its three road games this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

As prolific as Newton has been as a rookie, perhaps he could teach Blaine Gabbert a thing or two about being a productive quarterback right out of college.

Statistically speaking, Gabbert's first campaign has been ghastly, has he's completed just 45.7 percent of his passes and sports a dismal QB rating of 62.0 (last in the NFL) after the first half of the season.

Then again, it's not as though the Jaguars have surrounded Gabbert with much offensive firepower outside of Maurice Jones-Drew, though he does have a strong defense to lean on.

You know what else he has to lean on? The Colts, whom the Jags will face in Indianapolis on Sunday.

Seeing as how the Colts have yet to win a game this season, and that Peyton Manning isn't about to risk his neck to save the team from further embarrassment, Jacksonville should be able to notch its third win of the season, even if Gabbert struggles to crack 150 yards passing in the process.

Detroit Lions

The Lions return to action with a rather tough assignment—a divisional tilt against the 5-3 Bears at Soldier Field—but certainly not one that's beyond the capability of conquering. Detroit thoroughly dominated Chicago at Ford Field in Week 5, with Matthew Stafford throwing two touchdown passes, Jahvid Best collecting a career-high 163 yards rushing and the "Silver Crush" silver-crushing Jay Cutler all night.

Of course, much has changed since that day. The Lions have lost twice and will go into Sunday's game without Best, who is still recovering from a concussion suffered during a loss to the 49ers in Week 6. The Bears, on the other hand, have won their last three games in that span and seem to have figured how to keep Cutler upright long enough to be effective.

That being said, so long as the Lions have Ndamukong Suh and Stephen Tulloch around to terrorize Cutler and Stafford healthy enough to, well, be himself, they should be more than able to notch their seventh win of the season and hang onto second place in the NFC North in the process.