The Green Bay Packers looked like a very ordinary team for the first six quarters of the 2021 NFL season.

After falling behind 17-14 at the half against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, they finally started to show some signs of life over the final two quarters.

The Packers outscored Detroit 21-0 in the second half to win 35-17 and cover as an 11.5-point favourite.

Green Bay improved to 7-0 against the spread following a straight up loss since 2019.

For anyone who watched the game, the differences between the first and second half were obvious.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.

Packers win, cover on Monday Night Football

After a very conservative first half, the Packers decided to open things up in the third quarter.

It worked.

Aaron Rodgers went 22-of-27 for 255 yards and four touchdowns in the win. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Rodgers averaged 2.8 air yards per attempt in the first half. In the second half, he averaged 12.7 air yards per attempt.

Rodgers went 5-of-8 for 123 yards and a touchdown on throws that travelled 10 air yards or more downfield in the second half.

Meanwhile, anyone who bet on Aaron Jones cashed in on Monday night.

Jones tied the record for the most touchdowns ever scored in a game at Lambeau Field with four, including a one-yard score in the fourth quarter to push Green Bay over the team total (31).

Jones was +2500 to score three touchdowns. I didn’t see odds for him to score four. 

Davante Adams went over his receptions total with eight catches for 121 yards.

Meanwhile, the Packers’ defence stepped up with a fumble recovery and an interception in the second half to cover the number.

Despite Green Bay covering the 11.5, NFL underdogs still went 9-7 against the spread in Week 2 to improve to 21-11 ATS overall this season.

With the over 49.5 hitting, the over is now 6-0 in prime-time games so far this season.

AL playoff odds update

The Tampa Bay Rays (+110) beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 on Monday night, handing them just their fourth loss in the month of September.

With the New York Yankees (-270) beating the Texas Rangers 4-3, the pinstripes are now just a half-game back of the Blue Jays for the final American League Wild Card.

While it’s just one game for both teams, it did lead to an adjustment from oddsmakers.

The Yankees went from +165 to -135 to make the playoffs. Toronto went from -225 to -170 to reach the postseason.

Meanwhile, the idle Boston Red Sox went from -550 to -650 to make the playoffs over the past 24 hours.

The Blue Jays will look to bounce back tonight with Alek Manoah scheduled to start opposite Drew Rasmussen for the Rays.

As of this morning, that game is a pick’em.

CFL Week 8 update

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will visit the Ottawa Redblacks in our first Wednesday night game of the CFL season in Week 8.

After beating the Calgary Stampeders 23-17 as a small underdog, Hamilton will be a significant favourite against an Ottawa side that is 0-4 straight up and against the spread since an upset win over the Edmonton Elks in Week 1.

CFL favourites are 5-3 against the spread over the past two weeks, but still trail 12-15 ATS this season.

Meanwhile, we’ve seen an even split with the totals over the past two weeks at 4-4, but the under still leads 17-10 overall.

Corral now the Heisman Trophy favourite

Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral entered Week 1 of the NCAA college football season at +1400 to win the Heisman trophy.

After leading the Rebels to a 3-0 start, he’s now the favourite to win the Heisman at +150.

Corral threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 68 yards and four rushing scores in a 61-21 win over Tulane in Week 3.

Corral leapfrogged Alabama’s Bryce Young, whose odds held at +300 as the second choice to win that award.

While it’s still early, it’s noticeable that the top two choices to win the award have already created some separation in betting markets.

While Corral and Young are +150 and +300 to win the Heisman respectively, no other player has shorter than +2500 odds.

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