The countdown to Thursday Night Football continues with a close eye on who will be available and who will not be playing tonight.

The Arizona Cardinals opened as a 3.5-point favourite, but that number touched seven at some spots on Wednesday.

As of this morning, I’m looking at Cardinals -6.5 at most sports books, with the total down from 52.5 to 50.5.

With so much uncertainty surrounding who’s in and who’s out for the Packers, most sports books have been hesitant to make the Green Bay player props available.

In addition to the plays I posted in this column on Wednesday, I’ll be keeping an eye out for some of those Packers’ player props right up until kickoff.

Here’s the Morning Coffee for Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.

Packers, Cardinals set for prime-time showdown

The Packers and Cardinals have a combined .929 winning percentage, which is the best combined winning percentage by teams on Thursday Night Football in October or later ever.

Both teams are 6-1 against the spread.

Arizona has covered games by an average of 11.9 points per game, which is the best mark in the NFL.

Meanwhile, Green Bay has covered six straight since opening the season with an ugly loss to the New Orleans Saints, and they’re 9-4 ATS in prime-time games under Matt LaFleur.

While the absence of star receiver Davante Adams has moved the number for this game, Aaron Rodgers has been pretty good without his top pass-catching option in his career.

Since 2019, Rodgers is 6-0 with a 70.3 per cent completion rate and a 17-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in six games without Adams.

Prime-time underdogs are 14-7 against the spread.

Can the Packers at least keep this game close?

If you jumped on Arizona -3.5, you could end up sitting on a decent middle if the number gets back to seven ahead of kickoff, assuming you think Green Bay will keep this game close.

I’ll be watching closely for the player props to be released to see what the receptions and receiving yards props for players like Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers and Equanimeous St. Brown look like.

Aaron Jones should be in line for another busy week, and you have to think that A.J. Dillon will be busier than he was last week when he had just four touches against the Washington Football Team.

Make sure you follow TSN Edge on Twitter and check in with us throughout the day for the latest updates ahead of Thursday Night Football.

Astros even World Series

The Houston Astros (-120) evened the World Series with a 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The total went over 8.5.

It was Houston’s seventh win by five runs or more this postseason, which ties the all-time record.

The Astros got to Max Fried early, scoring five of their seven runs in the first two innings.

Houston has scored five runs or more in 10 of its 12 games this postseason.

Now the series shifts back to Atlanta tied 1-1, with the Astros once again now the betting favourite to win it all.

Houston went from -150 to win the series before Game 1, to +135 to win it all before Game 2, now to -140 to win it all heading into Game 3.

On the flip side, the Braves went from +125 before Game 1 to -155 before Game 2, and now +115 to win it all heading into Game 3.

Meanwhile, Michael Brantley has emerged as the favourite to win World Series MVP after going a combined 5-for-9 in the first two games.

Brantley, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez were all +1000 to win World Series MVP entering Game 1.

Brantley is now the favourite at +550, followed by Altuve at +650, then Kyle Tucker at +1100.

Maple Leafs snap slide

The Toronto Maple Leafs (-210) snapped a four-game slide with a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on Wednesday night.

Shout out to everyone who jumped on Toronto when they opened -160 on the heels of a fourth straight loss.

That number changed dramatically after it was announced several Blackhawks were in the COVID protocol.

Meanwhile, underdogs went 3-2 on Wednesday night, including the Philadelphia Flyers (+155) upsetting the Edmonton Oilers 5-3.

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in the loss for Edmonton. He’s up to 15 points in six games this season.

For those wondering, McDavid is still +125 to win the Hart Memorial Trophy.

As far as I’m concerned, anything plus money on McDavid to win the Hart is a smart bet.

Lakers blow 26-point lead in loss to OKC

The Los Angeles Lakers opened the season as the second choice to win the NBA championship at +400.

I’m not sure anyone holding a ticket with the Lakers to win the title is feeling good about this morning.

L.A. blew a 26-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 123-115 loss on Wednesday night. It was their largest blown lead in the last 25 seasons.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Lakers were 230-0 over the past 25 seasons when leading by at least 25 points, including the playoffs.

L.A. has allowed at least 115 points in every game to start the season at 2-3, the longest streak to start a season in franchise history.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets opened the season as the betting favourite to win the title at +250. After a 106-93 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, the Nets are also 2-3.

All three of Brooklyn’s losses have been by double digits - tied for the most in the NBA.

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