Sunday Shocker! Patriots are UNDERDOGS for first time since '06

courtesy patriots.com
No you didn't read that title wrong, the Patriots are underdogs next week against the Denver Bronco's for the first time in the playoffs since the year 2006. It was reported first by Ben Volin.



According to Pro Football Talk, this is only the fifth time the Patriots have been underdogs since Bill Belichick took over the reigns, and three of those times the Patriots won outright as the underdog. They report that pregame.com states that multiple agency's in Las Vegas are making the Bronco's a six point favorite headed into Sunday.

Patriots fans may remember two of those wins when the Pats were underdogs. Twelve years ago, they defeated Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game, and the Saint Louis Rams in the Superbowl. Even being underdogs, fans can't help but remember the Brady / Manning bowl earlier this season, when the Patriots completed a franchise best, 24 point comeback win to defeat the Bronco's in overtime.

But alas, the spreads cannot last for too long. sportingnews.com was at the casinos today in Vegas, and when the spreads came out, it wasn't long before they started dropping like flies, as even some casino representatives thought the spread was high.

"Before the Broncos-Chargers game was over, we were putting our numbers down on what the championship game should be, and we all wrote down 6.5s or 7s," said LVH SuperBook VP Jay Kornegay.

But early money showed up on the Patriots, pushing the line down to 5 in just over an hour.

MGM Resorts also opened Denver -6.5, but was bet down to -6 within 40 minutes.

"Six seemed a little high," said MGM Resorts VP of race and sports Jay Rood. "I was thinking 4.5 initially."

It makes Pats fans wonder why the spread started so high. It is obvious that there was plenty of money being put on New England, and given this past year and the Brady / Manning Bowl, I wouldn't be shocked if the spread goes down even farther by the time Sunday comes around.

What are your thoughts on the spread? Too large? Too Small? Tell us on twitter at @PatriotsLife or tell me your thoughts at @jmano33

- Joshua Powers