Arizona is the biggest 11-3 underdog ever
If you looked at the standings and saw Arizona at 11-3 and then looked at the Week 16 odds and saw them as 9.5-point underdogs, you’d have to wonder – has any team with such a great record been an underdog of so many points.
Spoiler alert – the answer is no.
Not since we gathered the data from 1983 to present anyway. Two other occasions an 11-3 team was a 7-point underdog, and it happened on the same day. Atlanta laid a TD in 2004 at New Orleans and the Chargers were disrespected by the sportsbooks at Indianapolis (both lost).
[ Check the latest Arizona line at Bovada - they often have the best underdog odds on the NFL ]
Of course, there are factors at work here. Arizona is down to its third-string QB and the team they are facing is the red-hot Seattle Seahawks.
But laying almost 10 points at home? The other two games, the 11-3 team was on the road.
In fact, this is the only the second time an 11-3 team has been a home underdog. The other was Tennessee giving three points to Jacksonville in 1999. Ironic that the Jaguars were a favorite, given they just broke their 42-game-always-an-underdog streak this week, and more ironic that the team they are facing is Tennessee.
| 11-3 Team | Year | Date | Spread | Result | Foe |
| Arizona | 2014 | Dec. 21, 14 | 9.5 | ? | vs Seattle |
| Atlanta | 2004 | Dec. 26, 04 | 7 | L 26-13 | at New Orleans |
| Baltimore | 2006 | Dec. 24, 06 | 4 | W 31-7 | at Pittsburgh |
| Buffalo | 1988 | Dec. 11, 88 | -6 | W 37-21 | vs Raiders |
| Carolina | 2008 | Dec. 21, 08 | 4 | L 34-28 | at Giants |
| Chicago | 2001 | Dec. 30, 01 | -5.5 | W 24-0 | at Detroit |
| Chicago | 1988 | Dec. 11, 88 | -10.5 | W 13-12 | vs Detroit |
| Cincinnati | 2005 | Dec. 24, 05 | -13.5 | L 37-27 | vs Buffalo |
| Cincinnati | 1988 | Dec. 11, 88 | 1.5 | L 41-6 | at Houston |
| Dallas | 1994 | Dec. 19, 94 | -9.5 | W 24-16 | at New Orleans |
| Dallas | 1992 | Dec. 21, 92 | -7.5 | W 41-17 | at Atlanta |
| Denver | 2013 | Dec. 22, 13 | -9.5 | W 37-13 | at Houston |
| Denver | 2012 | Dec. 23, 12 | -10.5 | W 34-12 | vs Cleveland |
| Denver | 2005 | Dec. 24, 05 | -13.5 | W 22-3 | vs Oakland |
| Denver | 1997 | Dec. 15, 97 | 3.5 | L 34-17 | at San Francisco |
| Denver | 1984 | Dec. 9, 84 | -7.5 | W 16-13 | vs San Diego |
| Green Bay | 2002 | Dec. 22, 02 | -7 | W 10-0 | vs Buffalo |
| Green Bay | 1997 | Dec. 14, 97 | -6.5 | W 31-10 | at Carolina |
| Green Bay | 1996 | Dec. 15, 96 | -8 | W 31-3 | at Detroit |
| Indianapolis | 2006 | Dec. 24, 06 | -9 | L 27-24 | at Houston |
| Indianapolis | 2004 | Dec. 26, 04 | -7 | W 34-31 | vs San Diego |
| Indianapolis | 2003 | Dec. 21, 03 | -7 | L 31-17 | vs Denver |
| Kansas City | 2013 | Dec. 22, 13 | -7.5 | L 23-7 | vs Indianapolis |
| Kansas City | 1997 | Dec. 14, 97 | -9 | W 29-7 | at San Diego |
| Kansas City | 1995 | Dec. 17, 95 | -6 | W 20-17 | vs Denver |
| Miami | 1990 | Dec. 23, 90 | 3.5 | L 24-14 | at Buffalo |
| Minnesota | 2009 | Dec. 28, 09 | -8 | L 36-30 | at Chicago |
| Minnesota | 2000 | Dec. 17, 00 | -8.5 | L 33-28 | vs Green Bay |
| New England | 2011 | Dec. 24, 11 | -7 | W 27-24 | vs Miami |
| New Orleans | 2011 | Dec. 26, 11 | -7 | W 45-16 | vs Atlanta |
| New Orleans | 1992 | Dec. 20, 92 | -3.5 | L 20-16 | vs Buffalo |
| New Orleans | 1987 | Dec. 27, 87 | -10 | W 33-24 | vs Green Bay |
| NY Giants | 2008 | Dec. 21, 08 | -4 | W 34-28 | vs Carolina |
| NY Giants | 1993 | Dec. 26, 93 | -3 | L 17-6 | at Arizona |
| NY Giants | 1990 | Dec. 23, 90 | -6 | W 24-21 | at Arizona |
| Oakland | 2000 | Dec. 16, 00 | -7 | L 27-24 | at Seattle |
| Philadelphia | 2003 | Dec. 15, 03 | 2.5 | W 34-27 | at Miami |
| Philadelphia | 2002 | Dec. 21, 02 | -6.5 | W 27-3 | at Dallas |
| Pittsburgh | 2008 | Dec. 21, 08 | -3 | L 31-14 | at Tennessee |
| Pittsburgh | 1994 | Dec. 18, 94 | -3.5 | W 17-7 | vs Browns |
| San Diego | 2009 | Dec. 25, 09 | 2 | W 42-17 | at Tennessee |
| San Diego | 2004 | Dec. 26, 04 | 7 | L 34-31 | at Indianapolis |
| San Francisco | 2011 | Dec. 24, 11 | -2.5 | W 19-17 | at Seattle |
| San Francisco | 2001 | Dec. 30, 01 | -6 | L 26-21 | at Dallas |
| San Francisco | 1998 | Dec. 20, 98 | -6.5 | L 24-21 | at New England |
| St. Louis | 2003 | Dec. 21, 03 | -7 | W 27-10 | vs Cincinnati |
| Tampa Bay | 2002 | Dec. 23, 02 | -8.5 | L 17-7 | vs Pittsburgh |
| Tennessee | 2000 | Dec. 17, 00 | -16 | W 24-0 | at Cleveland |
| Tennessee | 1999 | Dec. 26, 99 | 3 | W 41-14 | vs Jacksonville |
| Washington | 1986 | Dec. 13, 86 | 3.5 | L 31-30 | at Denver |
