Did you know: Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland have never been 14-point favorites in any game since 1978? In December 1995, facing the expansion Jaguars quarterbacked by backup Steve Beuerlein, the Lions were 13-point favorites.  That is the largest points spread the team has had since ’78, and the playoff-bound Lions won 44-0.

In 2005, in a game against the Katrina Saints with backup Todd Bouman, the Bucs were 13-point favorites. This was the last game of the regular season, and the host Bucs scored a late defensive touchdown to cover, 27-13.  Tampa Bay would finish the year 11-5.

And finally, we have the Browns.  In 1995, against those same expansion Jaguars, the old Browns were 13.5 point favorites coming off of a bye.  But for the first time, a Bill Belichick-led favorite was shocked by a Tom Coughlin-led underdog, as the Jaguars won 23-15.  From a points spread perspective, this was actually a bigger upset than the 2007 Super Bowl!  The largest points spread for the new Browns came in the final game of the 2007 season, where Cleveland beat San Francisco 20-7 as 11.5-point favorites.

The table below shows the largest points spread for each team in a game since 1978.

What stands out to you?