The spread in betting is the number of points the favorite has to win by for a bet on it to pay, and the number the underdog can lose by and still pay. Buffalo -7 against the Chargers means a Buffalo bet wins only if the Bills win by 8 or more, and a Chargers +7 bet wins if the Chargers win or lose by 6 or fewer.
That line is the DraftKings spread ESPN listed on September 24, 2026 for the Chargers at Bills on Sunday, September 27. On a margin of exactly 7, the bet is a push and the stake comes back.
How to read a spread
The minus sign marks the favorite and the plus sign the underdog. The number is the same on both sides, only the sign changes. The price next to it is what you pay to win $100: Buffalo -7 is priced at -112 this week and the Chargers +7 at -108.
Here is how three of this week’s DraftKings lines on ESPN read. The table explains the numbers; it is not a pick on any of these games.
| Game | Favorite | Favorite covers if it wins by | Underdog covers if it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers at Bills | Buffalo -7 | 8 or more | wins, or loses by 6 or fewer |
| Chiefs at Dolphins | Kansas City -10.5 | 11 or more | wins, or loses by 10 or fewer |
| Patriots at Jaguars | Jacksonville -3 | 4 or more | wins, or loses by 2 or fewer |
A margin of exactly 7 in Buffalo, or exactly 3 in Jacksonville, is a push. The Kansas City line has a half point, so it cannot push.
Two games from last week, graded
A spread bet is graded on the final score with the spread applied, and winning the game is not enough. Two games from Week 2 of the 2026 season show both sides of that, using the DraftKings line ESPN lists for each game:
- Colts at Chiefs, September 20: Kansas City -6. The Chiefs won 33-30, a 3-point margin, so Kansas City won the game and failed to cover. A bet on the Colts +6 won.
- Dolphins at 49ers, September 20: San Francisco -12.5. The 49ers won 35-13, a 22-point margin, so the 49ers covered with 9.5 points to spare.
The price: vig and the hook
The -110 on each side is the book’s margin, called the vig or juice. You risk $110 to win $100, so you need to win 52.4% of your bets to break even. A bettor who wins exactly half their -110 bets loses about 4.5% of what they stake.
The half point on a line such as -10.5 is called the hook. It removes the push, and it matters most near the numbers games land on. A line of -3 pushes on a 3-point win, while -3.5 loses on it.
What happens on a push, and in overtime
A spread on a whole number can land exactly. FanDuel’s house rules, approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on March 27, 2025, say that for American football, where the spread “is a whole number, bets are void and will be refunded where the score lands on that number.” The same rules say overtime counts for spread betting.
Hockey works the same way on overtime. FanDuel’s rules for the NHL say the puck line “includes overtime and any subsequent shootout for settlement purposes.”
Why 3 and 7 matter in the NFL
NFL points come in 3s and 7s, and final margins bunch on those numbers. ESPN’s results for the 2025 regular season show 272 games: 41 were decided by exactly 3 points, or 15.1%, and 26 by exactly 7, or 9.6%. Sixteen were decided by 1 point and one ended in a tie.
That is why the half point around 3 and 7 costs more than one around 5 or 11. Each of those 41 games was a push at -3 and a win at -2.5 for the team that won by 3. Only 9 games in 2025 were decided by exactly 5 points, and 5 by exactly 11.
Common spread numbers
| Line | A bet on this side wins if the team | Pushes if the team |
|---|---|---|
| -1 | wins by 2 or more | wins by 1 |
| -1.5 | wins by 2 or more | never pushes |
| -2.5 | wins by 3 or more | never pushes |
| -3 | wins by 4 or more | wins by 3 |
| +1.5 | wins, or loses by 1 | never pushes |
| +2.5 | wins, or loses by 2 or fewer | never pushes |
| +3 | wins, or loses by 2 or fewer | loses by 3 |
In hockey and baseball the spread is usually 1.5 goals or runs, called the puck line and the run line. A -1.5 favorite has to win by 2.
A pick’em, written PK, is a spread of zero: the team that wins covers.
Spread or moneyline
A moneyline bet only asks who wins. Against the spread, a favorite has to win by more than the number, and an underdog can lose and still pay. The Colts at Chiefs game above is the case that separates them: a Kansas City moneyline bet won, and a Kansas City -6 bet lost. Our moneyline guide covers how those prices work, and our odds explainer shows how to turn any price into a chance.
The two prices show the trade. This week Buffalo is -7 at -112 on the spread against the Chargers, and -325 on the moneyline: the spread needs an 8-point win, and the moneyline needs only a win but costs $325 to win $100.
Why a spread moves
A spread opens at one number and can move before kickoff, as books react to injuries, weather and the money they take. A move across 3 or 7 changes what the bet is worth more than a move of the same size anywhere else, because of how often games land on those two numbers. This week, DraftKings opened Buffalo at -2.5 against the Chargers, and ESPN listed the Bills at -7 on September 24, a move across both.
Compare the number at more than one book before you bet, and check how much the line has moved since it opened. For more on combining spreads, see our guides to parlays, teasers and winning margin bets. This week’s games and the sides we take on them are on our NFL predictions hub.