When you look at records in the NFL you need to look beyond the wins and losses for each team and focus more on the record against the football odds. Sometimes the teams at the top of the league don’t always have the best record vs. the NFL betting lines. Football odds last season had the Green Bay Packers with the best record against the spread at 11-4-1. They were followed closely by the Atlanta Falcons at 11-5. The Indianapolis Colts were 10-5-1 during the regular season and they went on to play in the Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers didn’t make the playoffs but they were 9-4-3 against the spread.
A team that might be a surprise to many fans was the Cleveland Browns. They had a poor season a year ago straight up but they were good to gamblers as they were 10-6 vs. the NFL betting lines. The Minnesota Vikings were successful both straight up and against the spread. They finished last year at 9-6-1 against the number in the regular season.
Six teams finished just above the .500 mark last season against the spread at 9-7. They were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. The San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens were 8-7-1 against the spread.
The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl last season but they were just 8-8 against the spread during the regular season. The Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders were also 8-8 vs. the number. The New England Patriots and Houston Texans were also .500 against the spread at 7-7-2. Just below the .500 mark were the Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs at 7-9 while the Washington Redskins were 6-8-2 and the New York Giants were 6-9-1.
Teams that did not perform well last season vs. the number were the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 6-10. The Pittsburgh Steelers were 5-10-1 against the spread even though they finished with a straight up record of 9-7 while the Jacksonville Jaguars were 5-11 against the spread. The Detroit Lions were the worst team in the league last season as they were 4-10-2 against the number.