While having NFL teams remain undefeated after five weeks of the season isn’t uncommon, the amount of undefeated teams we have this year (6) is a bit higher than usual. This is the time of the season where these undefeated teams start to become heavily bet by the general betting public, and therefore these teams become overvalued.
As teams get further into the season without losing, casual NFL bettors tend to put a heavier emphasis on outright victories and pay far less attention to ATS records. This leads to the online sportsbook gradually raising the lines on these undefeated teams, and even if they start to lose ATS but win outright, these lines will continue to go up.
Atlanta started the year with three consecutive victories in the role of the underdog. They have since been favored in their two most recent games, covering the spread in a blowout win against Houston and then suffering their first ATS loss of the year in a six-point overtime win vs. Washington as a 7-point home favorite.