New England Patriots: Patriots Open Up as 16 Point Favorites over Texans
In terms of point spreads, this game will be one for the records books.
The Patriots opened up as 15.5 point favorites over the Houston Texas in this Saturday’s divisional round game in one of the largest playoff lines in history.
Vegas certainly took into account the fact that the Patriots went 14-2 in the regular season, have a four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback leading their team, and have dominated the all-time matchup history with Houston, going 7-1 (including playoffs) overall and 4-0 at Gillette Stadium.
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Oh, and Houston? Yes, they have a certain $72 million quarterback named Brock Osweiler who was recently benched in favor of a former fourth round quarterback.
Advantage: Patriots. At least on the betting lines.
While the Patriots are overwhelming favorites to win this weekend, their point spread is not the largest ever in playoff history. Let’s take a look at some of the famous ‘big spread’ games and if the favorites covered.
Minnesota Vikings (-16.5) vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1998-99 playoffs
The Cardinals were massive underdogs the week before in the wildcard round against the Dallas Cowboys and pulled off one of the biggest playoff upsets, famously defeating Troy Aikman at home for their first playoff victory since 1947.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals’ Cinderella story came to a crashing halt the following week when the 15-1 Vikings cruised 41-21, covering by 3.5 points.
Baltimore Colts (-18) vs. New York Jets, Super Bowl III
In one of the most shocking–and important–games in NFL history, the New York Jets stunned the powerhouse Colts (and the NFL) 16-7 to become the first team from the AFL to win a Super Bowl.
The game will always be remembered for when Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously guaranteed days before the game that the Jets would upset the heavily favored Colts, and then proceeded to follow through on his promise.
While the game itself was extremely sloppy, it was important by legitimizing the AFL as ample competition with the NFL. The two leagues would merge two years later.
San Francisco 49ers (-19) vs. San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl XXIX
Niners quarterback Steve Young threw six touchdowns and San Francisco never looked back in a 49-26 bludgeoning of the upstart Chargers team. Young was named the Super Bowl MVP and memorably got the ‘monkey off of his back’ in winning a Super Bowl without Joe Montana on the team.
To date, this remains the largest ever point spread in both Super Bowl and playoff history. The Niners covered by four points and won their fifth (and most recent) Super Bowl.
Next: Foreshadowing MVP Voting
Will New England be able to cover their point spread? Find out Friday when I make my picks for this weekend’s games.