Ravens Open As 7.5 Point Underdog To Broncos

See below the opening spreads and results for the season opener for the defending champs since 2005. The one obvious difference is the Ravens are on the road.

Year Defending SB Champ Opponent/Result Spread

2005: New England Patriots (vs. Oakland Raiders: 30-20 Win) New England 7.5 Point Favorites

2006: Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Miami Dolphins: 28-17 Win) Pittsburgh 1 Point Favorites

2007: Indianapolis Colts (vs. New Orleans Saints: 41-10 Win) Indianapolis 5.5 Points Favorites

2008: New York Giants (vs. Washington Redskins: 16-7 Win) New York 4.5 Point Favorites

2009: Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Tennessee Titans: 13-10 Win) Pittsburgh 6.5 Point Favorites

2010: New Orleans Saints (vs. Minnesota Vikings: 14-9 Win) New Orleans 4.5 Point Favorites

2011: Green Bay Packers (vs. New Orleans Saints: 42-34 Win) Green Bay 4.5 Point Favorites

2012: New York Giants (vs. Dallas Cowboys: 24-17 loss) New York 3.5 Point Favorites

Notes:

• Until this last year, the defending Super Bowl Champions were favored in the last eight season openers

• They won all of them except 2012

• The average spread was the Super Bowl Champ -4.7 points

• The defending champs record Against-The-Spread was 6-2

2013 NFL WEEK 1 - Season Opener

Baltimore Ravens +7.5

Denver Broncos -7.5