Morning Coffee: An early NFL Week 3 parlay to consider

Sometimes, all it takes to find a new perspective is a change in environment.

For Derek Carr, a fresh start was exactly what he needed.

In his first nine NFL seasons, Carr went 7-62 straight up with the Las Vegas Raiders in games in which they scored 20-plus points.

Last night, Carr improved to 2-0 this season when the New Orleans Saints score 20-plus points.

Carr threw for 228 yards with one interception and was sacked four times against the Carolina Panthers.

That was good enough for a 20-17 win on Monday Night Football, as the Saints’ defence held Bryce Young to 62 yards on passes that travelled 10-plus yards through the air. 

Anyone who tailed with the FanDuel Best Bet in Monday’s column cashed, as I hit my fourth winner in a row with New Orleans on the money line.

Unfortunately, anyone who laid the points with the Saints settled for a push after the Panthers scored a late touchdown and executed a two-point conversion to lose by three points.

While we’ve made it look easy with the best bets in this column recently, it’s important to keep in mind that every point matters when it comes to betting on the NFL.

This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.

Saints improve to 2-0 with Monday Night Football win

For the first time in a decade, the Saints are 2-0 to start the season. The under has cashed in each of those two wins.

New Orleans has allowed 20 points or fewer in 10 straight games – the longest streak in franchise history and the longest active streak in the NFL.

In Monday’s column, I explained why I believed a prime-time game against the Saints’ defence was a tough spot for a 22-year-old rookie quarterback to make his home debut.

That’s exactly what happened, as Young averaged just 4.6 yards per completion while going 22-of-33 for 153 yards, four sacks and a fumble lost.

Young was pressured on 33 per cent of his drop backs. He went 4-of-9 for 20 yards with four sacks on those plays.

Young has averaged just 4.2 yards per attempt overall this season.

That’s the third-lowest mark in NFL history through a player’s first two career NFL games.

I believe the Panthers could have done a better job putting him in position to succeed with a little more help at the wide receiver position.

That said, Young just turned 22 in the summer, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it will take time for him to get comfortable. 

Next up, the Panthers travel to face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. Seattle is currently a 5.5-point favourite for that contest.

Chubb suffers serious injury in Browns loss

While this column is dedicated to sports betting and fantasy sports entertainment, I won’t hesitate to admit that I felt awful after Nick Chubb suffered a serious knee injury last night.

Chubb is one of my favourite NFL players and the type of character that everybody I know enjoys cheering for.

All of us in the TSN boardroom had the same reaction when he went down.

Hopefully, Chubb is able to make a full recovery without limitation.

The night couldn’t have gone much worse for fans of the Cleveland Browns, as the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to win the game 26-22 as a +112 money line underdog at FanDuel.

The Steelers have won 21 consecutive Monday Night Football games at home.

Pittsburgh is the only NFL team with a winning record as an underdog since 2007, which is when Mike Tomlin took over as head coach.

The Steelers are an NFL-best 50-29-3 ATS as an underdog in any situation over that span.

An early FanDuel Best Bet for Week 3 in the NFL

I’ve hit four FanDuel Best Bets in a row in this column heading into Week 3.

I’m looking to lock in another winner this morning.

The San Francisco 49ers are a 10.5-point home favourite for Thursday Night Football.

While I will have a FanDuel Best Bet for that game later in the week, I’m jumping on the opportunity to parlay the 49ers on the money line with a number that I think will move this week.

The Seahawks bounced back from an ugly loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 with a 37-31 overtime win over the Detroit Lions in Week 2.

Now they return home with an opportunity to redeem themselves in front of their home fans with a win over the Panthers at Lumen Field.

Seattle is a 5.5-point favourite for that contest. The Seahawks are -255 on the money line.

As if the Monday Night Football matchup wasn’t difficult enough, now Young has to travel to a hostile environment on a short week to play a motivated team in Seattle.

I’ll lock in a two-leg NFC West contenders parlay with the 49ers and Seahawks on the money line at -155 as my first FanDuel Best Bet for Week 3 of the NFL season.

Hopefully, we can keep it going and celebrate another winner together.