From Russell Wilson’s brilliance to another remarkable collapse from Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, the third Sunday of the NFL season was a memorable one.

While the betting favourites weren’t nearly as dominant as they were in Week 2, they did go 9-4-1 straight up and 8-6 against the spread.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Monday Sept. 28, 2020.

And Another One

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Atlanta….

The Falcons led by 16 entering the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bears, only for Nick Foles to rally Chicago with three touchdown passes in the final six minutes and 20 seconds in a 30-26 loss.

For the second week in a row, Atlanta had a 98 per cent win probability in the fourth quarter. For the second week in a row, the Falcons lost outright in regulation and failed to cover (-3).

According to Elias, Atlanta became the first team in NFL history to lose twice after holding a fourth-quarter lead of 15 points or more in the same season.

While the Falcons’ defence has been criticized, it’s worth pointing out that their offence managed to move the ball just five yards on 12 plays during that final stretch. Matt Ryan was 0-for-7 with a sack over that span.

Entering Week 3, only Adam Gase of the New York Jets had shorter odds than Dan Quinn to be the first coach fired in 2020. After falling to 0-3 with another double-digit collapse, it will be very interesting to see what happens next in Atlanta.

The Falcons will visit Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football in Week 4.

Bills Find A Way

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills survived a scare and improved to 3-0 after blowing a 28-3 lead over the Los Angeles Rams.

Trailing 32-28 with 15 seconds left in regulation, Allen found tight end Tyler Kroft for the go-ahead score.

Allen threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the win, as Buffalo improved to 3-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991-92.

The Bills will have a chance to get to 4-0 as a 2.5-point favourite at the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4.

#LETRUSSCOOK

The legend of #LETRUSSCOOK continued on Sunday as Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 315 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Wilson is up to 14 touchdown passes, which is the most through a team’s first three games in NFL history.

Wilson, who is the betting favourite to win NFL MVP at +275 odds, has completed a ridiculous 76.7 per cent of his pass attempts while throwing for 925 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He’ll get an opportunity to add to his incredible start as a seven-point favourite at the Miami Dolphins in Week 4.

Colts Cover Easily As Double-Digit Favourites

The first double-digit favourite of the NFL season covered easily on Sunday.

Phillip Rivers threw for 217 yards and a touchdown and the Colts defence scored twice on pick-sixes from Sam Darnold in a 36-7 win over the New York Jets.

Indianapolis, which opened as an 8.5-point favourite but had moved all the way to -11.5 before kickoff, won the game by 29 points.

There is only one game on the schedule for Week 4 with a projected double-digit spread. The Baltimore Ravens are listed as 13.5-point favourites at the Washington Football Team.

The NFC Least

The NFC East division combined for an unimpressive 0-3-1 record in Sunday’s games.

Dallas lost to Seattle. Washington lost to the Cleveland Browns. The New York Giants lost to a beat-up San Francisco 49ers’ team. The Philadelphia Eagles tied the Cincinnati Bengals at home to fall to 0-2-1.

At a combined 2-9-1, the NFC East owns the third-worst combined record by any division through three weeks since 1970.

An Underdog Story

The Miami Heat (+3.5) clinched a spot in the NBA Finals with a 125-113 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on Sunday night.

Miami, listed anywhere from 60-to-1 odds to 110-to-1 to win an NBA title before the season started, is the biggest underdog to reach the final in 18 years.

Bam Adebayo was outstanding again with a game-high 32 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Jimmy Butler chipped in with 22 points and eight helpers. Rookie Tyler Herro scored 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Heat opened as a significant underdog to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Miami is +360 to win the title, which translates to a 21.7 per cent implied win probability. 

The Heat would become just the second team in NBA history to win the championship as a No. 5 seed or lower.

Los Angeles, which hasn’t lost more than one game in any series so far this postseason, is -440 to win it all.

LeBron James is the favourite to win finals MVP at -125. Anthony Davis (+260), Jimmy Butler (+550) and Bam Adebayo (+1800) round out the list of the top choices.

The NBA Finals begin with Game 1 between the Heat and Lakers on Wednesday night. Los Angeles is listed as a five-point favourite for Game 1.