Powered by:
Morning Coffee: AFC Playoff Race Wide Open After Notable Week 13 Upsets
Published
The Jacksonville Jaguars had an opportunity to move into the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football.
The Jaguars closed as a double-digit favourite at FanDuel.
Instead, they lost the game outright.
In fact, Jacksonville didn’t just lose what appeared to be a very winnable game on paper – they lose their franchise quarterback and leading wide receiver to injuries.
To recap, the Jaguars went from a chance to climb into pole position at the top of the AFC with a win as a 10-point favourite to some major concerns about their overall outlook if both Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk are forced to miss extensive time.
Meanwhile, Jake Browning carved up the Jacksonville defence for 354 yards and a touchdown with an 86.5 per cent completion rate to lead Cincinnati to its first road win in prime time since 2012, snapping a 14-game losing streak in such games.
Move over Joe Burrow.
The Bengals are one game out of a playoff spot with five games to go and four of the top seven seeds in the AFC don’t have their starting quarterback available.
Buckle up, because we could be in for an absolutely wild finish in the AFC playoff race.
This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday December 5th, 2023.
Week 13 Upsets Leave AFC Playoff Race Wide Open
If you’re a member of Bills Mafia, Week 13 could not have gone much better.
The Buffalo Bills got a much-needed bye week to rest, recover and prepare for a Week 14 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Birthday celebrations were also in store for their No. 1 wide receiver
Kansas City opened -3 at FanDuel.
That number has ticked down to Chiefs -2.5 after KC lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs, Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos all lost.
In addition to the actual results in the standings, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Cleveland could all be without their starting quarterbacks in Week 14.
Buffalo to make the playoffs could be found as high as +360 ahead of last night’s game.
As of this morning, the Bills odds to make the playoffs are currently off the board at FanDuel as their traders attempt to sort out all of the fallout from an absolutely wild Week 13 in the NFL.
The stage is set for an epic finish to the regular season.
Ultimately, the AFC Wild Card spots could come down to which team is healthy enough to get the results they need to get into the dance.
Prescott, Purdy Now Co-Favourites To Win NFL MVP
Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy are now co-favourites to win NFL MVP at FanDuel.
Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Prescott and Purdy have all had a turn as the favourite this season.
As of this morning, Prescott and Purdy alone at the top of the list.
The statistical case for Dak to win NFL regular season MVP is obvious.
The Cowboys franchise quarterback has thrown a league-high 26 touchdown passes with a league-best 26-to-6 TD-to-INT ratio.
Prescott is tied for the second-best completion percentage in the NFL and ranks second in the league in both wins and passer rating.
Dallas is undefeated at home at 6-0 and has won 14 straight home games dating back to last season.
With the Cowboys in contention for the NFC’s top seed, it isn’t a major surprise to see Prescott in the MVP conversation.
However, each of the last 10 MVP winners have come from a No. 1 or No. 2 playoff seed.
As it stands this morning, the Cowboys are the fifth seed in the NFC.
They don’t even have the best record in their own division.
While Prescott has put up some impressive numbers, Dallas hasn’t faced a very difficult schedule to date.
Last week’s win over the Seattle Seahawks was the Cowboys’ first win over an opponent with a winning record this season.
Dallas is 1-2 against opponents with a winning record and 7-0 against all other teams.
The Cowboys’ schedule is about to get a lot more difficult with a four-game stretch that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
Meanwhile, Purdy has completed at least 70 per cent of his attempts in six straight games.
Purdy has an 11-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio while leading the 49ers to four straight wins, including a statement victory against the Eagles on Sunday.
San Francisco is one game back of Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
If Purdy continues to perform at an elite level and leads the 49ers to the best record in the conference, he will certainly be in the MVP conversation.
Considering the number of players that have had a turn as the NFL regular season MVP favourite this season, it’s important to keep in mind that there is a lot of football left to determine who has the best case for the award.
As it stands this morning, it’s Purdy and Prescott and then everybody else in the NFL MVP conversation.
Sinclair Set For Final Farewell
Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair will make her final international appearance in a friendly versus Australia tonight at B.C. Place Stadium.
Sinclair is +140 to score a goal in her final match.
She’s +440 to score the first goal in her farewell game.
Canada was a -130 money line favourite for tonight’s game at FanDuel last night.
That number has already moved to Canada -150 this morning.
The stage is set for what should be an emotional farewell.
I’ll certainly be cheering for one more goal from Sinclair as she plays her final match tonight on TSN.