Columnist image

| Archive

Patrick Mahomes has led the Kansas City Chiefs to five straight AFC Championship appearances.

He’s never been an underdog.

In fact, the Chiefs have been the favourite in 14 straight playoff games entering this week. That number includes 12 starts by Mahomes.

All eyes are on Kansas City’s MVP quarterback this week as we wonder how healthy Mahomes will be for Sunday’s game after he suffered a high ankle sprain in the Divisional Round.

Mahomes told reporters that the ankle is “doing good” and we did see video of him jogging at practice on Wednesday.

While we still have no idea what Mahomes will look like if he plays against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the AFC Championship game spread was on the move again at FanDuel.

This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday Jan. 26, 2023.

All eyes on Mahomes’ ankle

If you’ve read this column throughout the week or you follow me on Twitter, you know that I jumped on the Bengals +3 when the line was posted at FanDuel on Sunday evening.

The spread moved as far as Cincinnati -2.5 at FanDuel, reaching Bengals -3 at some sports books on Wednesday afternoon.

It didn’t take long for bettors to jump on Kansas City. 

That forced an adjustment in the opposite direction. As of this morning, FanDuel is showing Cincinnati -1.

While a lot was made about Mahomes doing some light jogging with the camera on at practice on Wednesday, it wasn’t enough to change my mind.

Remember, this is the same Bengals’ defence that attacked Josh Allen from all angles and limited the Buffalo Bills to 10 points in a road playoff win in the Divisional Round.

This is the same defence that helped Cincinnati secure three straight head-to-head wins over the Chiefs when Mahomes was healthy.

Even if Mahomes is able to play on Sunday, there is no guarantee that he will be able to perform at a high level and finish the game, especially if the Bengals’ defence gets to him with pressure.

I’m still on Cincinnati +3 right now.

There’s nothing I’ve seen since Sunday that would lead me to come off of the Bengals with that number in pocket.

I’d rather wait until game time and see both teams in action before making my next move on a side.

Blue Jackets pull off biggest upset of NHL season

The Columbus Blue Jackets stunned the Edmonton Oilers with a 3-2 win in overtime on Wednesday night.

It was the biggest upset of the NHL season so far.

The Blue Jackets went off as a +315 money line underdog at FanDuel.

Columbus improved to 4-15-2 on the road this season.

Meanwhile, Ilya Samsonov is still undefeated in regulation at home this season.

Samsonov stopped all 27 shots that he faced as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 3-2 as a -172 money line favourite.

NHL favourites went 4-1 on Wednesday, with the Blue Jackets picking up the lone upset of the night.