What is the Highest Point Spread in NFL History?

NFL betting is very exciting just because of the selection of bets you can make. In the world of modern football and the competitive betting market, people are given a chance to bet on any outcome in a game.

This brings us to NFL spreads, which are the most common picket bets in the NFL gambling space.

However, as a beginner that doesn’t know much about betting point spreads can be somewhat confusing.

What is a Point Spread in NFL Betting?

The true definition of the point spread is a bet on the margin of victory in a sporting event. This doesn’t tell much, does it?

Well, point spread is a pre-defined value from the bookmakers about a particular match that is based on the favorite team and the underdog. In the world of NFL betting, the underdog is marked with a (+) sign and the favorite has a (-) sign.

So, in NFL point spread betting people are placing a bet based on the spread where the favorite should win by more than the pre-set point value, or that the underdog will lose less than the point value.

To help you understand point spread better let’s take an example where the Rams (as favorites) come with a -4.5 point spread, which means that they must win the game by more than 5 points. On the other hand, the Bengals as underdogs have +4.5, and placing a bet on them means that they can either win or lose by 1-4 points without going over the spread.

This is an interesting betting strategy that many people prefer, which is why we go inspired to find the highest point spread in NFL history. Once in a while, we have heavy favorites and big underdogs that can set a pretty high point spread.

Such as:

Broncos vs Jaguars in 2013

Even though the Broncos were humiliated in Super Bowl XLVII that year, a few months before that they were considered the most offensive team in the NFL that was undefeated until week 6.

On top of that, the Broncos were averaging 46 points per game and the Jaguars only 10.2, which is why the sportsbooks decided to give them a point spread of 28 points which is the largest in the history of football.

Even though the match started well with the Broncos getting a 14-0 lead, it ended nowhere near to covering that historic spread as the final score of the game was 35-19.

Steelers vs Buccaneers in 1976

Moving way back in the history of the NFL, we have a match between the Steelers and the Buccaneers where sportsbooks decided to put a 27-point spread for this match.

One of the reasons for such a high point spread was the weakness of the Buccaneers which had a record of 0-11. On top of that Pittsburgh needed to win in order to get to the playoffs.

In this game, the sportsbooks were right as the game finished 42-0 victory for the Steelers, making them the only team in history that managed to cover a point spread larger than 20 points. This is also one of the biggest wins in the history of the NFL.

Patriots vs Eagles in 2007

Moving back to the glory days of the Patriots, we can spot another big pint spread of 25 points where the Patriots were facing the Eagles in Week 12. With Tom Brady as the leader of the Patriots, had big hopes for this game as it seemed like they are facing big underdogs considering that the Eagles were missing their starting quarterback Donovan McNabb.

However, despite the large point spread, the game was really tight and the Patriots held on by just a field goal and won by 31-28 which is much shorter than most people expected.

The Patriots, as of now are the team that covered the most spreads (378 times).

49ers vs Bengals in 1993

Even though this was the first year that the 49ers were without their legendary quarterback Joe Montana, they’ve managed to have an incredible season.

Winning game after game and climbing the ranks made them a clear favorite with a 24-point spread against the underperforming Bengals with a 1-10 record.

However, Cincinnati somehow managed to cover the spread with an 8-21 final score, making it one of the biggest shocks in the history of the NFL.

49ers vs Falcons in 1987

It seems like sportsbooks have favored the 49ers in many cases, but not all of them were successful. Here we have the same situation where the 49ers were a dominant force in the NFL league with Joe Montana leading the team.

Going against the falcons made them a clear favorite due to their impeccable record that season. However, everything wasn’t going great for the 49ers. They were playing at only 10,000 people, making this one of the poorly attended games in history, which sportsbooks didn’t consider as they have a huge 24-point spread.

In the end, the Falcons managed to hold on tight and cover the huge 24-point spread as the game ended 25-17.