Patriots favored over Texans in one of largest spreads in NFL playoff history

Bill Belichick’s idea of a party boat differs a bit from that of Odell Beckham Jr., who was shown in a shirtless photo with his New York Giants teammates living it up on a yacht in Miami before their playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Patriots coach was shown in a photo posted on social media napping with his girlfriend on the Nantucket ferry in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during New England’s bye week.

Belichick had his laptop open in front of him, but bookmakers think the coach can relax before the Patriots’ NFL divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans. New England is favored by up to 17 points in Saturday’s game in one of the largest point spreads in NFL playoff history.

The line opened at 14½ at several Las Vegas sports books before climbing to 16 at several shops and to 17 (plus-105) at MGM Resorts.

“We’ve taken double the money on the Patriots as the Texans at the 17,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said. “But anything can happen. The sharps might suddenly decide that the Texans are a strong play.”

The 17-point spread is the third-largest in the NFL playoffs in the past 49 seasons. The 1994 49ers were favored by 19½ over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX and covered the spread in a 49-26 romp. The 1968 New York Jets were 18-point underdogs in Super Bowl III when they stunned the Baltimore Colts in a 16-7 victory that was famously guaranteed by Joe Namath.

The Texans lead the NFL in total defense, but quarterback Brock Osweiler is more Glass Joe than Broadway Joe.

“I’m still having a difficult time figuring him out,” Wynn sports book director John Avello said. “When he came to the team, he looked like a guy who could be plugged in and get the offense going and be efficient. But it hasn’t worked out that way so far.

“You’re still dealing with a defense ranked No. 1, but I think a lot of other teams are as good as they are defensively.”

Including New England, which leads the NFL in scoring defense and beat Houston 27-0 in Week 3 behind third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett as a 1-point favorite.

“Tom Brady’s worth 10 points,” Avello said. “For betting purposes, you have to make the numbers high enough on the Patriots. If you made the Patriots 10½ or 13, they’d lay it all day long. So you cross the key number of 14, and at that point bettors have got to think a little about it.”

Most of the early money around town has been on the Patriots, including at CG Technology, where sports book director Jason Simbal said he opened the betting by taking $19,000 in wagers on New England and only $196 on Houston.

“I would imagine we’ll be at 17, and I’d imagine some of the value people will take the 17,” veteran South Point oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro said.

Avello said he doesn’t expect the line to hit 17 at his place, and neither does William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich.

“It’s come down a little now. It was as high as 16½, and it’s back down to 15½. It’s very rare in this round to see a number that big, that’s for sure,” Bogdanovich said. “It’s the No. 1 defense in the league. For them to get that many points, I think it’s high.”

Action on the game has been light so far.

“We haven’t written a crumb compared to where that game will be on the weekend,” Avello said.

The spread is the highest for an NFL playoff game since the high-powered 1998 Minnesota Vikings covered as 16½-point favorites in a 41-21 divisional-round win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The largest spread for an NFL regular-season game was the 2013 Denver Broncos, who failed to cover 28 points in a 35-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2007 Patriots were favored by more than 20 in three games, going 0-3 ATS and barely escaping with a 31-28 win over the Eagles as 24-point favorites. The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers covered the 24-point spread in a 42-0 rout of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 0-14.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.