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NFL point spreads are set by oddsmakers. This is the final outcome they expect one team to have over the other. For example, if the New England Patriots are squaring off against the Miami Dolphins. Feb 04, 2021 The minus symbol means the option is a favorite to win. Moneyline betting odds with a “+” notation are relatively simple to calculate. The +195 line on the Giants, for example, means a $100 wager would net $195 in profit. In other words, the $100 bet would return a total of $295 (the $195 in profit and the original $100 bet).

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1. Proposition bet calculator — Fair line for lots of common prop bets, given the point spread and total. NFL Average Scores per Game 2000-2020 — Historical scoring data from 2000 to 2020. Super Bowl proposition bets — Repository of Super Bowl proposition bet sheets from Las Vegas.
2. 2020 NFL Weekly Betting Lines show point spreads, moneylines, and totals for each game of the week. Use the printer icon to generate a printable version or click team logos to view individual NFL Team Schedules. Be sure to also check out the NFL Season Schedule Grid to view all 32 teams in a printable grid format.

The largest point spreads in NFL history make for interesting conversation and even more interesting wagers.

While it’s not terribly unusual to see one or two spreads in double digits each week, the key numbers in football are on the lower end, and most football spreads are set at less than seven points.

But despite the level of parity in the league today, every season has heavy favorites and major underdogs.

Let’s look at the biggest NFL point spreads in recent history and which side covered each.

*Note that point spreads vary between sportsbooks and over time – numbers included here may appear differently elsewhere.

9. Chiefs vs. Jets 2020 Week 8 (-20.5)

2020 has been an unusual NFL season for many reasons, but the Chiefs have shown they don’t need a raucous crowd to continue their momentum after taking the 2020 Super Bowl in the last NFL game played in a crowded stadium.

After opening the season 6-1, the Chiefs set an historic spread against the flailing Jets, who at 0-7 are the sole remaining winless team this NFL season.

While the line continues to be bet down, there’s little doubt that this lopsided matchup will go down as one of the biggest point spreads in modern NFL history.

8. Patriots vs. Buccaneers 1976 Week 14 (-21)

1976 was a year of firsts for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was the team’s first season in the NFL. First season under head coach John McKay. First season at Tampa Stadium.

It was also the first time an NFL team played an entire season without winning or tying a single game. And by the time the final game against a seasoned 10-3 Patriots squad rolled around, the public and bookies didn’t like the Buc’s chances very much.

Up by a touchdown at halftime and tied after three, most of the game was much closer than expected. Then the Pats put 17 points on the board in the fourth quarter, driving a nail through the coffin of a truly disastrous inaugural season.

But hey, at least the Bucs covered this one.

7. Patriots vs. Dolphins 2007 Week 7 (-22)

Going into Week 7 of the 2007 season, the undefeated Patriots travelled south to take on the winless Miami Dolphins. Coming off an impressive win against a powerhouse Cowboys squad, the books liked New England’s chances to post huge margin in this game.

Things got off to a fast start, with the Pats completing an 80-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass. The throw would be one of six TD passes Tom Brady threw; a Patriots record at the time. He earned a perfect passer rating during the game for the first time in his career.

Following an impressive 21-point fourth quarter scoring flurry, the Dolphins ultimately covered this massive spread by the tiniest of margins, surely disappointing scores of bettors.

The Patriots continued to a nearly undefeated season before losing to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

6. Cowboys vs. Buccaneers 1977 Week 3 (-23)

Three weeks into their second NFL season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still had not won a single game.

Needless to say, their chances didn’t look good on the road against a Cowboy’s squad that would go on to win the Super Bowl that year.

The Cowboys took a commanding 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bucs returned a second quarter fumble for a lone TD to cover the spread.

Ultimately, the game became infamous for extensive injuries and bad sportsmanship, including several scuffles between former roommates Cecil Johnson and Tony Dorsett.

5. 49ers vs. Falcons 1987 Week 4 (-24)

The 1987 NFL season was colored by a Player’s Association strike that saw most starters sit out.

While most teams – including the Atlanta Falcons – used replacement players during the strike, key 49ers stars crossed the picket line and continued to play. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice took the field in Atlanta, playing before less than 10,000 fans in one of the most poorly attended games in history.

Shockingly, the Falcon’s rag-tag crew of replacement players held their own against some of the league’s biggest names, keeping the score to 25-17 and covering the huge 24 point spread.

4. 49ers vs. Bengals 1993 Week 14 (-24)

1993 was the 49ers’ first season without legendary QB Joe Montana, but they managed an impressive season nonetheless.

Facing a 1-10 Bengals team at home in Week 14 seemed a sure blowout for the Niners as 24 point favorites. David Klinger’s underwhelming NFL debut further moved public opinion behind San Francisco.

Coming off a win in LA the week prior, Cincinnati managed to cover the spread with an 8-21 final score.

3. Patriots vs. Eagles 2007 Week 12 (-25)

The 2007 Patriots appear as favorites on the list of biggest NFL point spreads twice, speaking to the utter dominance of this squad during their undefeated regular season.

Brady and crew’s Week 12 matchup against Philadelphia nearly put a dent in this golden record, despite the fact they were favored by a staggering 25 points going into the matchup.

Eagle’s starting QB Donovan McNabb was out with an injury, but backup A. J. Feeley showed his chops with an impressive performance that put 28 points on the board.

The Pats held on by just a field goal to win 31-28, falling far short of expectations despite their advancement to 11-0 on the season.

2. Steelers vs. Buccaneers 1976 Week 13 (-27)

The 1976 Bucs are the other team to find themselves listed twice here, albeit on the opposite side of the equation as the 2007 Patriots.

By the time they hit the road to face the Steelers in Week 13, sportsbooks and football fans had taken note of the weaknesses underlying Tampa’s 0-11 record.

Pittsburgh needed the win to clinch a playoff berth and did so effectively by holding the Buccaneers to just 85 yards as they scored 42 points in three quarters.

The 42-0 victory made the Steelers the only team in NFL history to cover a spread of more than 20 points.

1. Broncos vs. Jaguars 2013 Week 6 (-28)

Months before the Denver Broncos were humiliated in Super Bowl XLVIII, they were the hottest offense in the NFL and undefeated as they welcomed a winless Jacksonville team to the Mile High City.

Going into the game, the 2013 Broncos were averaging 46 points per game vs the Jag’s 10.2, which helps to explain the 28 point spread, the biggest in football history.

Things looked good out of the gates as Denver took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Jaguars soon exceeded expectations, however, and were down by just two at the half.

Even after putting up another 21 points in the second half, the Broncos didn’t come close to covering this historic spread thanks to a generally solid performance by the Jacksonville defense. The game’s final score was 35-19.

Huge Favorites Don’t Cover the Largest Football Spreads

If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s that huge favorites are highly unlikely to cover massive spreads.

It’s important to remember that point spreads are not the oddsmaker’s prediction for the margin of victory. They are formulated to entice relatively equal action on each side of the wager.

When one team is a prohibitive favorite in the eyes of the sports media and public, the sportsbooks are often forced to offer excellent expected value on the underdog to even out the money coming in. That’s how you end up with the biggest point spreads in history.

If you happen to see a spread over 20, history and basic math both suggest you take the underdog.

Looking for More Historic Sports Betting Moments?

Sports Betting Dime has a vault of historic sports betting stories for your enjoyment.

You’re sure to find a few betting insights lurking within the tales of others, both good and bad.

If you place wagers on US sports, then chances are high that you’ve heard of point spreads. Here’s how they work; if a game has Patriots -9.0 and Vikings +9.0, the Patriots are 9.0 point favorites and the Vikings are 9.0 point underdogs. Unless otherwise stated, no matter which team you bet on, you’ll be required to risk $1.10 for each $1.00 you want to win. For Patriots bettors to prevail, they need their team to win by 10 or more points. A 9-point Patriot victory would be a push (a tie). For Vikings bettors to take home the victory, they need to either win the game or lose by less than 9 points.

Point spreads are used since most recreational bettors prefer to wager even money propositions. In the above example, if there was no point spread, only moneyline betting would exist. So, if odds makers are giving the New England Patriots a 73% chance of winning a game, then in order to take bets and still have a small profit margin, the bookmaker would have no choice but to require Patriot bettors to stake $3.00 or more for each $1.00 they want to win.

With a point spread, the odds are balanced, so you usually have to risk just $1.10 to win $1.00. This makes the point spreads appealing to recreational bettors, who often think it’s easy to make money from them. We have to be honest with you; it’s NOT easy, but it IS possible. The strategy we cover in this article should help!

We’ve provided a brief explanation of point spreads in our introduction here, but if you’d like to know more about this type of wager then please read our beginner’s guide to betting point spreads.

Simple Tips for Point Spread Betting

Strategy for betting point spreads is obviously different for each sport and league, but these four tips are general enough to apply to them all.

• Take Advantage of Bonus Offers
• Use Multiple Betting Sites
• Be Careful of Road Favorites
• Understand Key Numbers

Let’s go over each of these tips in a little more detail.

Take Advantage of Bonus Offers

One way to make money from sports betting is to open an account at an online betting site and take advantage of their sign up bonus. This gives you extra money to wager with, and since point spreads are so straightforward, it can be relatively easy to meet the associated wagering requirements and still come out ahead. Repeating this process at multiple betting sites will maximize your potential returns! We just ask that you please stick with reputable sites, like any of the ones that we recommend.

Use Multiple Betting Sites

We already mentioned how using multiple betting sites allows you to take advantage of multiple bonus offers. That’s not the only benefit either. Since point spreads vary between sites, one of the best ways to beat these wagers is to compare the different spreads in order to find which one is the most favorable. This doesn’t take nearly as long as you might think, and it will make a huge difference to your bottom line over time.

Let’s take a hypothetical game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots as an example. One site might have the spread as follows.

Another site might offer a slightly different spread.

If you’re betting in favor of the Patriots, then you should be betting with Bookmaker A. If the Patriots win by more than seven points, then you’ll win with either bookmaker. However, if they win by exactly seven points, you’ll lose with Bookmaker B. With Bookmaker A, you’ll push and get your stake returned.

On the other hand, if you’re betting on the Bills, then Bookmaker B will be your best option. A Bills loss of exactly seven points would be a push at Bookmaker A, but it would be a win for you at Bookmaker B.

It’s only a half-point difference, and that might not seem like a lot. The bookmakers tend to be very accurate with their spreads though, and an extra half-point in your favor can easily add up to extra profits over time.

Be Careful of Road Favorites

Many novice bettors fail to understand the impact of home advantage when wagering on sport events. When looking at the board for potential wagers, these bettors tend to get excited and bet on lots of superior teams favored on the road against weaker opponents. The betting market is so much more advanced than this, and for the most part point spreads are always going to be 50/50 propositions.

We’re not saying that you should never bet on road favorites. Just make sure that you have good reasons to do so. Keep in mind; they don’t just need to win, they need to win by a greater margin than the spread suggests they will.

Understand Key Numbers

While understanding key numbers is beneficial for betting point spreads on any sport, key numbers are known for having the most significance in football. In NFL football, most games are decided by three or seven points. Therefore, when shopping the odds, the difference between -7.0 and -6.5 is far greater than the difference between -5.5 and -5.0.

Point Spread Betting Nfl Spreads

With some betting sites odds, certain games are priced differently than risking $1.10 to win $1.00 (which is called -110 odds). For example, you might see the Giants priced at -105 and +7 in a game against the Jets. Now, you only have to risk $1.05 to win $1.00. This is obviously better odds, but it’s very likely that they will lose by exactly seven to give you a push. Taking -110 and +7.5 with an alternative bookmaker is actually the better bet.

Getting your head around these kind of intricacies, as well as knowing the relevant key numbers, is vital if you want to bet on the point spreads successfully.

Now that we’ve got the basic tips covered, we want to provide you with some point spread betting tips specific to two of the most popular US sports: football and basketball.

Point Spread Betting in Football

One of the best ways to beat football point spread betting is to use teasers. A teaser is a form of a parlay bet using modified point spreads. Each point spread you select is moved 6 points in your favor. For example, let’s say you’re interested in betting on the following.

A teaser would give you a single wager with the following spreads.

Each selection is obviously easier to get right with the spread moved in your favor, but you do have to get all three correct in order for your wager to win.

If you want to learn how to beat this form of wagering, you’ll definitely want to read our article on betting football teasers.

Another way to beat football point spreads is to shop for off market prices. For example, let’s say you’re shopping online betting sites and see every site is offering Vikings +7.0. Then, you stumble upon one site that’s offering +7.5. There’s a good chance that this is a +EV wager, simply because it is out of sync with every other site. Please note that this strategy isn’t quite the same as simply shopping for the best lines. Here, you’re specifically looking for wagers that are +EV because they’re against the market.

It’s also important to consider whether or not there’s any correlation between the point spread and the betting total. If they are, a parlay wager is a good way to get maximum value. For example, a college football point spread +24.5 parlayed with under 48 points in the same game might be a great parlay bet. If the +24.5 team covers the point spread, then there’s an increased chance that the game also goes under the posted total of 48.

Finally, you might want to think about learning the correct strategies for buying half-points in football. While many people are against this method, we’re here to tell you that there are some circumstances where buying points can be profitable.

Point Spread Betting in Basketball

Buying half points is a strategy that can work for basketball too. Most online betting sites offer bettors the ability to purchase half-points at 10 cents each. Let’s say the Lakers are -6.5 at odds of -110 for example. Here of some of the options you can expect to see.

A great strategy for betting basketball point spreads is to shop dozens of betting sites for the best line, and then purchase as many half points as possible (provided they are priced 10 cents each).

When using this strategy, it’s helpful to know the most common margins of victory in NBA basketball and how often they occur.

This information shows us that nearly half the games finish with one of the eight point margins listed, and this isn’t the result of variance. Some margins of victory occur more frequently than others because of end game strategy. The winning team is often found running the clock, while the losing team if often found intentionally fouling.

The key here is to target the point spread five and seven, because these are virtually tied as the most common margins of victory. It’s important to recognize that most betting sites are only willing to sell 2 or 3 half points for 10 cents each, after which point they start charging more. Some sites sell up to four half points at this price though.

To show how this can be exploited, take a point spread of -8.5 at odds of -110. This is a 50/50 proposition. Let’s assume you’ve purchased enough points to move the spread to -6.5 at odds of -150. Now, you’d win instead of lose 6.24% of the time they win by 8, and 6.59% of the time they win by 7. Add these together with the 50% from the original proposition, and we get 62.83%.

Go to our odds converter, and you’ll see that the implied probability of -150 is 60%. This means you need to win 60% of the time to break even. However, our handicapping shows the actual probability of winning is 62.38%.

If we risked $150 to win $100 on this -150 line, 62.38% of the time we would win $100. And 37.62% of the time we would lose $150. This gives us an expected profit of $5.95 for every $150 risked.

Point Spread Betting Nfl Projections

Nfl Point Spread Betting

If you only make large +EV bets such as the basketball example above, betting sites will limit the amount you’re allowed to wager. It’s not uncommon for online bookmakers to spot a skilled bettor and say, “Okay you can keep wagering here, but the maximum you’re allowed to bet per game is $500.00.”
If you keep betting and winning, they might decrease your limits even further. That’s why we recommend trying to hide the fact that you’re so sharp. By placing some random wagers and occasionally spending some time at their casino, you’ll have a much better chance of staying under the radar.
This is also another good reason for using multiple sites. Since there are so many different reputable betting sites to choose from, it would take you a long time to get limited at every single one of them.