The Cleveland Browns are 20-point underdogs this Saturday to the Baltimore Ravens, the largest NFL point spread in three years. It’s also just the 10th game in the last 30 years to reach that mark.
If the number moves a bit more, it has a chance to become one of the largest point spreads of all time. Here are the Top 10 biggest point spreads in NFL odds history, and how the favorites fared.
10. Patriots vs Jets (Week 14, 2007)
Point spread: Patriots -20.5
How dominant was New England in 2007? The Patriots went unbeaten in the regular season, and had three different games where they were favored by at least 20 points.
The Jets were 3-12 on the season but gave New England a fight. New England would only score 20 points, 17 of which came in the first half, as Tom Brady was held without a touchdown pass for the first time all season.
9. Patriots vs Jets (Week 3, 2019)
Point spread: Patriots -20.5
Twelve years later, the Patriots would once again be favored by 20.5 points over the Jets. New York was missing starting quarterback Sam Darnold, while the Patriots had won their first two games by a combined 73 points.
New England held the Jets to just 105 yards of total offense, and led 30-0 late in the third quarter. But the Jets recovered a muffed punt for a touchdown, and later added a Pick 6 off Jarret Stidham to notch the backdoor cover.
8. Cowboys vs Dolphins (Week 3, 2019)
Point spread: Cowboys -21.5
Miami was outscored 102-10 in its first two games of 2019, while Dallas came in having scored 66 points behind Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.
Oddsmakers opened this line as a 15-point spread, but the public quickly bet it up almost another touchdown. It still wasn’t enough, as the Cowboys became just the second team ever to cover a spread of 20+ points in NFL history.
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7. Patriots vs Dolphins (Week 15, 2007)
Point spread: Patriots -22.5
Here come the 2007 Pats again. This was the last of the three contests in which they were favored by 20+, coming against the 1-13 Dolphins. It was also the closest they came to covering the spread in those outings.
Brady led the Patriots to a 28-0 halftime lead, but Miami’s third quarter touchdown would be the only points after the break.
6. Cowboys vs Buccaneers (Week 3, 1977)
Point spread: Cowboys -22.5
Dallas came into this game on the back of a 25-game winning streak, and faced a Tampa Bay franchise in the midst of just its second NFL campaign. The Buccaneers had yet to win a game as an organization, and the Cowboys continued their misery with a 23-7 win that was sadly mired by multiple fights and dirty hits.
5. 49ers vs Falcons (Week 4, 1987)
Point spread: 49ers -24
This game came during the 1987 player strike, and the 49ers were massive favorites due to players like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice crossing the picket lines while the Falcons were using replacement players.
But those replacements put up more resistance than expected. They rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit, cutting the lead down to eight points with a minute to go but failed to recover the onside kick.
4. 49ers vs Bengals (Week 14, 1993)
Point spread: 49ers -24
The Bengals were terrible in 1993, and had just one win through 11 games heading into a showdown with the 49ers. But they actually led 8-7 at halftime despite being 24-point underdogs.
Ricky Watters would save the day. He notched two of his three rushing touchdowns after halftime, and helped the 49ers get the victory.
3. Patriots vs Eagles (Week 12, 2007)
Point spread: Patriots -25
That dominant 2007 Patriots team I mentioned earlier had their biggest spread of the year in Week 12, when they faced an Eagles team that was just 5-5 and playing without quarterback Donovan McNabb.
But the Eagles nearly pulled off the biggest Vegas upset in NFL history, leading 28-24 heading into the fourth quarter. But Brady yet again staged a comeback, and the Patriots picked off AJ Feeley on Philly’s last two drives to seal the victory.
2. Steelers vs Buccaneers (Week 13, 1976)
Point spread: Steelers -27
That Tampa Bay team we mentioned earlier went winless in its first season, and was punished heavily at the hands of the Steelers. Needing a win to clinch a playoff spot, Pittsburgh crushed the Buccaneers 42-0 as they limited the Tampa Bay offense to just 85 yards of offense.
The win also made the Steelers the first team to ever cover a point spread of at least 20 points.
1. Broncos vs Jaguars (Week 6, 2013)
Point spread: Broncos -28
Denver’s offense averaged 46 points per game in the first five weeks of the 2013 NFL season, while Jacksonville had scored a total of 51 points in its first five contests. That made it easy for the oddsmakers to post the Broncos as the biggest favorite in NFL history.
Despite jumping out to an early 14-0 lead, Peyton Manning and the Broncos were unable to cover such a massive spread. Jacksonville trailed by just two points at halftime and held the Broncos to 21 points after the break to cover the spread by 12 points.
