NFL Against The Spread Picking football games in the NFL against the spread can be extremely difficult and costly if you don’t have certain information. One thing you need to be aware of is that crappy teams in the NFL are usually crappy against the spread. The Jags were 5-11 last year and they were 4-12 against the spread. The Rams were 2-14 last year and they were 5-10-1 against the spread last year. Most NFL teams that had a losing record also had a losing record against the spread. Green Bay was the only team with a losing record that had a winning record against the spread. Let’s talk about how the entire NFL did against the spread. The home team in the NFL only covered against the spread 47.3% of the time. So betting the home team is a losing proposition from the very start. It gets worse. The home team as a favorite in the NFL only covered 45.9% of the time against the spread. People give the home teams too much credit in the NFL. The home team does win more often straight up, 57.1% of the time but as we saw the only win against the spread 47.3% of the time. So what does this tell you? If you are betting NFL games against the spread be very weary of the home team favorites. Here is some additional data from the 2008 NFL season: NFL Against The Spread Trends 2008 The home team has covered 122 times out of 258 game for a winning percentage of 47.3 % The visiting team has covered 136 times out of 258 game for a winning percentage of 52.7 % The home team as a favorite has covered 78 times out of 170 game for a winning percentage of 45.9 % The home team as an underdog covered 40 times out of 83 game for a winning percentage of 48.2 % The visiting team as a favorite has covered 43 times out of 83 game for a winning percentage of 51.8 % The visiting team as an underdog covered 92 times out of 170 game for a winning percentage of 54.1 % The home team has won straight up 152 times out of 266 game for a winning percentage of 57.1 % The visiting team has won straight up 114 times out of 266 game for a winning percentage of 42.9 % The over has covered 131 times out of 263 game for a winning percentage of 49.8 % The under has covered 132 times out of 263 game for a winning percentage of 50.2 % The over for teaser plays has covered 189 times out of 265 game for a winning percentage of 71.3 % The under for teaser plays has covered 174 times out of 261 game for a winning percentage of 66.7 % The average margin of victory for home teams is 2.3 points. At www.RabidPorcupine.com we have the most comprehensive set of data against the spread on the web today. We will calculate these percentages each and every week, and we also have a complete breakdown of data for each NFL team against the spread.