Welcome to the Upside Down.

The Atlanta Falcons led in the fourth quarter and won on Thursday Night Football.

After entering the week with three blown fourth-quarter leads this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL, the Falcons managed to hang on for a 25-17 win over the Carolina Panthers.

In fact, it was the Atlanta defence that came up with several big stops in the victory, including a late interception inside the 10-yard line to clinch the win.

Weird, right?

Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday Oct. 30, 2020.

Falcons Hang On

For all of the talk about the Atlanta defence, they certainly looked like the better unit on Thursday night.

Matt Ryan completed 21-of-30 pass attempts for 281 yards, including seven passes for 137 yards to Julio Jones.

While the Falcons struggled to consistently get the ball in the end zone, Ryan and Todd Gurley both ran in scores. Younghoe Koo made four field goals in the wind and rain.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta defence held Teddy Bridgewater to 15-of-23 for 176 passing yards on the night.

The Falcons pressured Bridgewater on 40 per cent of his dropbacks including three sacks, which is the highest amount of pressure that Bridgewater has faced in a game this season.

The Atlanta win and cover extended one of the weirdest early trends of the season so far.

Since the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs opened the year with a win and cover over the Houston Texans, Thursday Night Football favourites have gone a combined 0-6 against the spread and just 2-4 straight up.

Maybe all the Falcons need is to play on Thursday nights a little more often.

Speaking of notable trends, Laura Diakun took a look at some of the most intriguing underlying storylines behind the numbers for this Sunday’s games.


Racing Night Live

While I’m still holding out hope the NFL will consider Friday or Saturday night games to help satisfy my unrelenting desire for more football, I’ve made different plans for Friday night.

Racing Night Live is on TSN3 and TSN5 tonight at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Last night, Carlo Colaiacovo, Julie Stewart-Binks and Chad Rozema joined Jason Portuondo for the RNL Rundown: Rapid Fire, where they talked locks and longshots, favourite Halloween candy and whether Tom Brady is the NFL MVP at the midway mark.

 

Russ Delivers Again

For the most part, whenever we talk about Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson it has to do with his incredible ability, fantasy dominance or MVP stock.

Wilson continues to deliver off the field as well.

On Thursday night, Wilson’s Why Not You Foundation revealed plans for a public charter high school just south of Seattle that will be tuition-free.

It’s an incredible idea and another example of how the MVP favourite continues to find ways to give back.

Have a great weekend.