On Thursday morning, I wrote that I didn’t trust Daniel Jones enough to bet on him to win a prime-time road game on a short week against a division rival.

By the time the night was over, it seemed unfair to put all of the blame for the New York Giants’ loss on their quarterback’s shoulders.

Dustin Hopkins kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Washington Football Team the 30-29 win on Thursday Night Football.

Hopkins missed his first attempt at the winner, but a defensive offside gave him a second chance to from five yards closer, and he hit the second attempt to clinch the victory.

After an underwhelming performance, Washington escaped with a win.

Meanwhile, despite looking like the better team for most of the game, the Giants fell to 0-2 for the fifth straight season.

Again, there was plenty of blame to go around.

Here’s the Morning Coffee for Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.

Washington pulls out TNF win

In a game filled with dramatic swings in win probability, there were plenty of mistakes to point to that added up to be the difference.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time that Washington beat New York on a walk-off score in regulation in franchise history.

That score wouldn’t have happened without the defensive offside by Dexter Lawrence the first attempt by Hopkins that went wide right.

While that was an obvious mistake to remember, it wasn’t the only significant swing that led to a win for the Football Team.

Jones went 22-of-32 for 249 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 95 yards and a score.

However, he was a penalty and a dropped ball away from two more touchdowns.

First, there was the 58-yard TD run in the second quarter that was nullified by a holding penalty. The Giants settled for a field goal instead of the touchdown.

Then in the fourth quarter, Jones aired it out to Darius Slayton on a defensive breakdown that left the receiver wide open in the end zone, but the pass bounced off of Slayton’s outstretched hands and fell incomplete.

Again, New York settled for a field goal.

While Jones was good for the most part, he still made his share of mistakes, including the less-than-perfect throw to the wide-open Slayton in the end zone.

Also, with the Giants in field goal territory looking to go up two scores in the second quarter, Jones took a sack on a third-and-7 from the Washington 32-yard line that pushed them out of range.

If you add up those three mistakes alone, it’s a net difference of minus-10.

Add in the defensive offside that gave the Football Team a second chance at the winning field goal and that makes it a minus-13 differential.

Not good in a game that was decided by a single point.

Plus, all of that is without mentioning 11 penalties for 81 yards, as well as offensive co-ordinator Jason Garrett’s decisions, including his play calls on the Giants’ final drive.

After a beautiful interception by James Bradberry set up New York at the Washington 20-yard line with 2:16 left on the clock, Garrett dialed up a pair of inside runs and a slant pass that was incomplete.

The Giants gained three yards before settling for a 35-yard field goal when a touchdown would have sealed the win.

They could have drained the clock with a first down.

In a game that was decided by the slimmest of margins, all of those mistakes added up to be the difference between a win and a loss for New York.

The Giants still covered as a 3.5-point favourite.

Still, as somebody that bet on the Football Team to win straight up, I couldn’t believe how many mistakes the G-Men made to give Washington additional chances to win the game.

In the end, they needed every single one of them.

AL Wild Card update

The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t play on Thursday, but they did gain some ground in the American League Wild Card race thanks to a little help from the worst team in the majors.

The Baltimore Orioles rallied from down a run in the ninth inning to beat the New York Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings.

Yankees’ reliever Clay Holmes was one strike away from his first career save when he threw a wild pitch that allowed pinch runner Kelvin Gutierrez to score the tying run from third.

Then in the 10th, Austin Hays hit the go-ahead RBI single that propelled Baltimore to its first win in six games.

New York fell a half-game back of Toronto and the Boston Red Sox atop the AL Wild Card standings. 

The Yankees open a three-game set versus Cleveland tonight. The Red Sox welcome the Orioles to town for a three-game series.

Boston is still considered the favourite to make the playoffs among the trio of AL East teams, with nine of its final 14 games versus Baltimore and the Washington Nationals. 

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays will play the first of three against the Minnesota Twins, with Hyun Jin Ryu scheduled to get the start opposite Michael Pineda.

As of this morning, Toronto is a -215 favourite to win tonight’s series opener.

Hadwin in the hunt at Fortinet Championship

Adam Hadwin opened the 2021 PGA Tour season with a six-under 66 in the first round of the Fortinet Championship on Thursday.

He’s one shot off the lead heading into Friday’s action.

After a strong start, Hadwin is now the fourth choice to win the tournament at +1600. First round leader Chez Reavie is +900.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm, who entered the tournament as the overwhelming favourite to win at +410, fell to +1800 after shooting a 72.

Meanwhile, Brooke Henderson is in the mix at the Portland Classic.

Henderson, who entered that tournament at +1200 to win it, is two shots back of the lead after a two-under 70 in the opening round.