Mind-blowing facts about betting trends for the Patriots-Dolphins game

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The New England Patriots are going to be among the historic road favorites on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

The two teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum after their Week 1 performances. While the Patriots beat the well-regarded Pittsburgh Steelers by 30 points, the Dolphins were crushed by the Baltimore Ravens by a final score of 59-10. It looked like the Dolphins weren't even trying at times, so naturally, New England is being favored in this year's first meeting between the two AFC East teams.

The betting line for the Patriots-Dolphins game opened at Patriots minus-14.5. But over the course of the week, it has skyrocketed to minus-18.5. And even with that number, almost all of the money is still coming in on the Patriots.

"Ninety percent of the money still was on the Patriots at that number [18.5]," Johnny Avello, sportsbook director from DraftKings, told ESPN's David Purdum. "And then, when we hit 19, we got a little bit of buyback. So I think we found the number."

The spread number, minus-18.5 or minus-19, is one of the highest road-favorite numbers in NFL history, and it's the highest since the Patriots were favored by 17.5 points against the Baltimore Ravens in 2007. The Patriots were unable to cover that massive spread.

The only September number higher than the current minus-18.5 spread during the Super Bowl era was when the 1968 New York Jets were favored by 20 points over the Buffalo Bills and failed to cover. 

If the line moves -- it should have a chance to if 90-plus percent of the money continues to come in on the Patriots -- the Patriots could make history. And if the line doesn't move, they'll make history if they can cover.

Either way, this spread reflects what many Patriots fans already know. The Patriots are significantly better than the Dolphins as currently constructed, and anything short of a big win on Sunday would be a massive disappointment. 

Tom E. Curran's Patriots-Dolphins Week 2 preview>>>

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