Nonetheless, according to Spreadapedia, since 2002, approximately 60% of NFL games have been decided by more than seven points of the spread. More than 28 percent of NFL games decided by more than 14 scores during the previous ten seasons. Furthermore, just 5.5 percent of games ended exactly on the final point spread. In other words, most NFL games feature close finishes, and there's a good chance that no matter who you pick as your winner, someone will come out on top. The point spread is used to determine how much money will be taken at the door. The house always takes a percentage of the spread, which means if the line is 3 points one way or another, the bookmaker must take a charge of $10,000 to make his money back. If the game ends in a tie, they'll call it a push. But even with those exceptions, the point spread is very effective at determining who will win most games. Here's how: Say team A is favored by 7 points over team B. That means B is -7 against team A. In other words, if B wins the toss, they should go for it on fourth down because they'll get better odds of winning if they're on offense instead of defense. If B chooses not to kick, team A will get the ball first in overtime.