Morning Coffee: A FanDuel best bet for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is officially here.

Before we dive into the numbers, can we take a moment to appreciate the wild ride that has set the stage for the Toronto Blue Jays over the past couple of months?

Remember back in March when we were talking about where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would ultimately be traded?

At the time, the Blue Jays had the longest odds to win the AL East of all five teams in their division.

Even the most hardcore fans of Canada’s baseball team didn’t think the playoffs were a possibility.

Fast-forward four months later, Toronto is four games clear of the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings.

The Blue Jays are also one game back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the entire majors.

Not bad for a team that was +198 to make the playoffs.

It’s July 31st and the Blue Jays are just 16 wins away from clinching the over on their regular season win total.

Who would have thought Toronto’s improbable first half would be the biggest surprise of the 2025 MLB season?

Now, where doe this team go from here?

Forget where they started.

The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros aren’t scaring anybody in the AL right now.

The Blue Jays could potentially be a couple of arms away from becoming a legitimate AL pennant contender.

So, go ahead and count me on the list of baseball fans that think Toronto should go all-in ahead of the trade deadline and try to win a World Series.

In fact, we’ve already reached the point when the same fans that thought the postseason wasn’t possible in March will be disappointed if the Blue Jays don’t add some combination of Mitch Keller, Merrill Kelly, Joe Ryan, and Sandy Alcantara before 6 PM ET tonight.

I’m excited to see what Toronto’s roster looks like after the dust settles later this evening.

Speaking of rosters, did any of you see the depth chart for the Calgary Stampeders this morning?

The Stampeders have been one of the biggest surprises of the CFL season, but they’ve also been absolutely devastated by injuries entering Week 9.

Now they’ll have to travel across the country on a short week with P.J. Walker set to make his first CFL start without some of Calgary’s best receivers available versus the Ottawa Redblacks.

If you just looked at the standings, you’d think Calgary would be a heavy favourite for Thursday Night Football.

Instead, it’s the Redblacks that are favoured by more than a field goal at FanDuel.

More on that in just a moment.

Meanwhile, for the first time this summer, the CFL isn’t the only football you can watch on TSN tonight.

The NFL returns with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers.

NFL bettors that have waited since February only care about who is in and who is out for both teams because they’re looking for an edge for tonight’s exhibition.

We’ve also reached that point in the summer when hardcore fantasy football fans must explain to their partners why they need to watch the NFL in July to gain an edge for their upcoming drafts by studying every single pre-season snap.

Isn’t it wonderful?

The NFL is officially back, the CFL season is heating up, and the MLB trade deadline has arrived.

Give me a black eye and I’ll be set for the rest of the day.

This is Morning Coffee for Thursday July 31st, 2025.

A FanDuel Best Bet For The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

That’s the quote that came to mind when I watched the first episode of the new season of Quarterback on Netflix the other night.

The producers started Jared Goff’s story by taking us through his move from Los Angeles to Detroit with a look at how Lions Nation has embraced him.

It was cool to see the emotion when he talked about his NFL experience and how much it means to him to be the man in Detroit.

It also got me thinking about the timeline for Goff’s potential transition from the hero to the villain.

The clock is ticking for the Lions.

From a historical perspective, the last two years have been as good as it gets for a franchise that led the NFL in combined regular season wins in 2023 and 2024.

However, the flip side of that coin is the one-and-done in the postseason that has left some football fans in Detroit wondering whether this team has what it takes to contend for a Super Bowl.

FanDuel bettors certainly believe the Lions can contend.

Detroit to win the Super Bowl is +1100 at FanDuel.

Only four teams – the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Kansas City Chiefs - have shorter odds to win it all this season.

The FanDuel traders also told us that the Lions are the second-most popular pick to win the Super Bowl with 11.5 per cent of the handle wagered in that market.

Only the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are a more popular pick to win it all.

Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is the most popular pick to win the Offensive Player of the Year award at FanDuel.

Gibbs to win OPOY is +1300 as the fourth choice on the board behind Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who missed all but five games last season due to injury, is set to return as the most popular pick to win Defensive Player of the Year.

Hutchinson to win DPOY is +700 as the second choice behind Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Lions have one of the NFL’s most talented rosters.

Now it’s up to the head coach and quarterback to lead them to a Super Bowl.

Goff and Dan Campbell are beloved by football fans in Detroit.

Considering the Lions are such a popular pick to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel, it isn’t just their fans that will be counting on them to take another massive step.

As for tonight, I’m going to play the Chargers to win the first half at -110 as a FanDuel Best Bet.

No offence to Lions backup QB Hendon Hooker, but Dan Campbell will sit two of his best rookies tonight, and even though Hooker is a mobile QB that can make plays with his legs, he might be outmatched by his counterpart.

The Chargers plan to play Trey Lance the entire first half.

The former third overall pick is looking for redemption after joining the Chargers, and while it might just be a meaningless exhibition game for some, I can promise you it’s an important one for Lance to showcase his skills.

We’ll also see rookie first round pick running back Omarion Hampton and rookie second round pick wide receiver Tre Harris in action for the Chargers.

The last time we saw Lance in pre-season action, he threw for 413 yards and two touchdowns – but also threw five interceptions.

Hopefully, we see more of the former and less of the latter in tonight’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

Lance to throw a touchdown on his first drive is +1000.

The Chargers QBs to throw one or more TD passes in the game is -130.

Give me Chargers 1st half moneyline at -110.

I’ll also lock in a CFL moneyline/total points parlay with the Redblacks to win and the under 52.5 points at +160 as a FanDuel Best Bet.

As I highlighted off the top, Walker will make his first CFL start, but he won’t have Damien Alford or Tyson Philpot, who are both injured for Calgary.

Meanwhile, the Redblacks already beat a healthier Stampeders team 20-12 in Calgary back in Week 3, so I’m confident they can take advantage of the situation in essentially a must-win game at home.

Hopefully, we go 2-0 on tonight’s CFL/NFL plays while we celebrate a successful trade deadline for the Blue Jays.

What could possibly go wrong?

Have a great day, everyone!