There’s been no home-field advantage in the NFL this season.
Through five weeks, road teams are 41-37 in 2023, including 1-1 in neutral-field games in London.
That actually shouldn’t be a surprise, as home-field advantage has been on the decline in the NFL for several years. Betting point spreads have reflected that, as the old rule of thumb that the home team got a three-point advantage slowly shifted to two points, and in the last couple years has been closer to 1.5 points.
It’s unclear precisely why home-field advantage has declined. Part of it is likely that NFL teams are getting better at setting their travel schedules so that players are rested, fresh and ready to play on road trips. Another part is likely that NFL teams are getting better at using silent counts and not letting crowd noise affect them.
Whatever the reasons, playing at home isn’t as big an advantage as it used to be.
