NFL Betting: What Are The Largest Point Spreads In Wild Card History?

The NFL playoffs typically feature smaller betting lines than the regular season. The weaker teams have been sifted out, and there are typically more evenly matched games during the postseason. But there are a couple of outliers for Wild Card Weekend 2025, as there are two games that feature spreads of 8 or more points.

The Largest Point Spreads Ever Seen On NFL Wild Card Weekend

How rare is it for games during the opening weekend of the playoffs to have betting spreads of double digits? Here are the largest spreads ever seen during NFL Wild Card Weekend:

1. Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills (-14) : Jan. 15th, 2023

The largest Wild Card Weekend spread in NFL history happened just two years ago. The Dolphins entered the postseason without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and instead had Skylar Thompson leading them into battle against their division rivals. Miami had lost five straight games entering Week 18 and were barely able to sneak past the New York Jets in order to qualify for the postseason.

The Bills were the #2 seed and winners of seven straight, and were favored to defeat the Dolphins by two touchdowns, the largest Wild Card spread that we’ve ever seen. It looked like Buffalo would cover as they jumped out to a 17-0 first half margin, but Miami was actually able to take back the lead in the third quarter. The Bills ended up winning, but by a score much closer than the spread indicated (14).

2. Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5) : January 16th, 2022

The Steelers barely squeezed into the playoffs during the 2021 season, winning their final game of the regular season in overtime to clinch a spot. They featured both an offense and defense that ranked in the bottom half of the league, and had started the season with a 1-3 record.

As the 7th seed, they were set to play against the 2-seeded Kansas City Chiefs, who were rolling, having won 9 out of their previous 10 and boasting a top-5 offense. The spread was set at 12.5 in favor of Patrick Mahomes and company, which at the time was the largest in NFL history.

The Chiefs covered the spread, winning by a score of 42-21, but the Steelers were at least able to hold their own in the first half. But after a scoreless first quarter from both sides, Mahomes threw five touchdown passes the rest of the way, and Travis Kelce threw one to Byron Pringle.

3. Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers (-11) : January 13th, 2013

The 2012 Vikings (10-6) finished second in the NFC North to the Packers(11-5), and had their third date of the season with Green Bay set for Wild Card Weekend. There was reason for optimism for Minnesota, as they had just defeated the Packers during the final week of the regular season to secure the 6th and final spot in the NFC.

So why the 11-point spread? Christian Ponder had taken every snap at quarterback for the Vikings that year, but suffered an injury in that late-season win against the Packers. He was forced to miss the Wild Card matchup, elevating Joe Webb into the starting spot. Webb hadn’t taken a single snap all season long, and sportsbooks didn’t like their odds against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Green Bay covered the spread, defeating Minnesota by a score of 24-10.