Week 4 in the NFL was an especially fun one for The TSN Edge crew.

Davis Sanchez went 3-0 in the SC AdvanEdge (technically 4-0 with his Colts-Bears under play).

Meanwhile, Chris Amberley, Luke Bellus and myself went 4-0 in the picks we made in the Thursday Night Football preview and our Best Bets column.

Hopefully you’ve been following along with us.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Monday Oct. 5, 2020.

 

Fly Eagles Fly

The Philadelphia Eagles (+8.5) are in sole possession of first place in the NFC East following a 25-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers to improve to 1-2-1. 

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz threw for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Former CFL Defensive Player of the Year Alex Singleton pretty much sealed the win with a pick-six in the fourth quarter that pushed Philadelphia’s lead to 11.

C.J. Beathard came off the bench for Nick Mullens and made things interesting, but ultimately the Eagles held on for the win.

Last year, Philadelphia started the season 0-3 ATS as a favourite in each of its first three games, then upset the Green Bay Packers as an underdog in a Week 4 prime-time game.

This year, the Eagles started the season 0-3 ATS as a favourite in each of its first three games, then upset the 49ers as an underdog in a Week 4 prime-time game.

Philadelphia’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as they make the short trip to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5 before they return home to face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6.

The Eagles will host the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 1 in Week 8. It will be interesting to see what both teams look like by the time that NFC East showdown rolls around.

Dak Prescott leads the league with 1,188 passing yards but Dallas is 1-3.

Turnovers on offence and a Cowboys defence that just gave up 307 rushing yards and three rushing scores on 7.7 yards per carry have caused some major issues.

Dallas has allowed 146 points so far – the most points allowed through four games in franchise history.

Fortunately for the Cowboys, they will have an excellent opportunity to bounce back in Week 5 since they play a rival NFC East team in the New York Giants.

We clearly can’t trust the Giants or the Washington Football Team right now. That leaves us with another battle between the Eagles and Cowboys to be the lone NFC East playoff representative this season.

Dallas is still the slight favourite to win the division at -110.

Philadelphia is currently +110 to win the NFC East.

 

Trend-Setting

Welcome To October: The New Orleans Saints (-4.5) improved to 15-1 ATS in the month of October dating back to 2016 with a 35-29 win over the Detroit Lions. Drew Brees threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Then there’s this:

Teddy Covers: With a 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers (+3.5) quarterback Teddy Bridgewater improved to 18-4 ATS in his career as an underdog (including playoffs). Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, adding 32 rush yards and a rushing score.

Flying High: Russell Wilson tied Peyton Manning for the most touchdown passes through the first four games of a season with 16 as the Seattle Seahawks (-4.5) beat the Miami Dolphins 31-23. Seattle is 8-1-1 ATS in its last 10 1 PM ET starts.

On Cloud Nine: Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7.5) beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-31. Brady has won nine straight meetings against the Chargers dating back to 2006.

And Still Undefeated: Lamar Jackson had 193 pass yards and 53 rush yards with three touchdowns as the Baltimore Ravens (-14.5) beat Washington 31-17. Baltimore improved to 37-0 SU all-time as a double-digit favourite in the regular season, the only NFL team to never lose in such a spot. It was pretty cool to see Robert Griffin III run on to the field at the end of the game, returning to Washington on the winning side.  

Barring any more positive COVID-19 tests, the NFL plans to have two games on Monday night.

The New England Patriots will visit the Kansas City Chiefs without Cam Newton.

That game will be at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN 4 and 5.

A little later, the Green Bay Packers (-6.5) will host the Atlanta Falcons in the originally scheduled Monday Night Football matchup. You can watch that one on TSN 1 and 3 at 8:50 PM ET / 5:50 PM PT.

 

Heat Check Time

Jimmy Butler scored 40 points with 13 assists and 11 rebounds as the Miami Heat (+9.5) upset the Los Angeles Lakers with the 115-104 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Butler became the third player in NBA Finals history to record a 40-point triple-double, joining his opponent LeBron James and Jerry West.

He scored or assisted on 73 of Miami’s 115 points, tied for the second-most in a Finals game in NBA history.

What are the chances that Butler can carry the Heat to a title?

According to the oddsmakers, it’s unlikely at best.

Miami’s title odds moved from +1600 to +1100 following the victory, which translates to an 8.3 per cent implied probability.

The most likely outcome based on the betting odds?

Lakers in 5 (-139). 

The Heat opened as a 7.5-point underdog for Game 4.

You can catch that game across the TSN Network on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

 

Storm Celebration Rolling In

The Seattle Storm will have the opportunity to clinch a championship when they clash with the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Seattle, coming off a 104-91 win over Las Vegas in Game 2 on Sunday in which they covered as a seven-point favourite, has won each of the first two games of the series by exactly 13 points.

Teams that have gone up 2-0 in the WNBA Finals are 6-0 all-time.

The Storm opened as 8.5-point favourites for Tuesday’s Game 3, which you can also catch on TSN 3 and 5 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.