New England/Baltimore: Patriots Biggest Road Favorite EVER

Sports betting expert RJ Bell, the only sports bettor on Forbes’ recent list of Gambling Gurus, provides the true point spread numbers behind the biggest favorites in NFL history.

Las Vegas, Nevada (November 29, 2007) – The sports world is buzzing with talk of the pointspread dominance of the New England Patriots, and this week the New England Patriots are 20.5 point favorites on the road vs. the Baltimore Ravens . . . -20.5 is by far the most any road team has been favored in modern NFL history.

Prior to this week, the biggest favorite away from home ever was the Buffalo Bills -16.5 over the Indy Colts on 11/29/92; the underdog Colts won 16 to 13. RJ Bell said: “It’s truly remarkable that the Pats are not just the biggest road favorites in pro football history, but are so by an unbelievable margin of 4 points.”

Last week the Patriots become the biggest favorite ever, favored by 24 points at home vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots won a close game, 31-28.

Before this season, only 5 games had a line of 20 or more (all data from 1980 onward; considered the modern era of Las Vegas odds). 6730 games were played during this period, and only 112 had lines of 14.5 or more (1.66 percent). Only 5 of a possible 112 dogs of 14.5 or more won the game outright.

Biggest favorite ever to lose the game outright was Dallas -17.5 at home vs. the Washington on 12/3/95; the underdog Redskins won 24 to 17. Biggest favorite of 1980’s was Chicago -20 at home vs. the Colts on 12/8/85; Bears won 17 to 10. Biggest playoff favorite was in Super Bowl 29, the 49ers -19 over the San Diego Chargers on 1/29/95; 49ers won 49-26.

Looking ahead, it is likely this record will not stand for long. Expert estimates indicate that the Patriots will be approximately -28 point favorites vs. Jets on 12/16/07, and -30 favorites vs. Dolphins on 12/23/07!

MEDIA NOTE: Print, radio, TV, and Internet media should feel free to quote any information above. Please attribute: RJ Bell of Pregame.com. RJ Bell is available for any follow-up questions at: rjbell@pregame.com. Please email: peter@verbatimpr.net to book media appearances. Special thanks to Marc Lawrence’s Playbook for assistance with this research.

RJ Bell, president of Pregame.com, has been featured on CBS News with Katie Couric, ABC News with Charles Gibson, Nightline, Sportscenter, Outside the Lines (ESPN), First Take (ESPN2), ESPN.com, ESPN National Radio, Yahoo, AOL.com, CNN.com – and in Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, LA Times, Newsweek.com, Maxim, and Forbes.

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