It was the Revenge Of The Backup Quarterbacks in the NFL on Halloween Sunday.

If you bet against any one of Mike White, Geno Smith or Cooper Rush, you took a loss.

White led the Jets (+420 ML) to the biggest upset of the season with a 31-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals, which were coming off their most impressive win of the Joe Burrow era after beating the Baltimore Ravens the week before, were the most popular Survivor Pool pick of the week.

If you avoided that trap with a winner on Sunday, congratulations that you survived and advanced. If you took the Bengals, that’s a tough way to go out.

I was thrilled that I wasn’t among those that had Cincinnati in Survivor Pools this week.

Then again, after a Sunday like that one, I don’t feel confident by any means counting down to Monday Night Football, sitting on the Kansas City Chiefs against the New York Giants as my pick for Week 8.

After all, we just saw White, Smith and Rush all win on the same Sunday.

Anything can happen in the NFL.

Here’s the Morning Coffee Monday Nov. 1, 2021.

Revenge Of The Backup QBs

My head was on a swivel heading into Week 8,  searching for that potential upset that would put a major dent in Survivor Pools.

I can’t stand when people play down a major upset in hindsight.

However, there were warning signs that led me to ultimately pass on the Bengals, so stay with me here for a minute.

The initial caution came from the line movement, as Cincinnati jumped from -3.5 on the lookahead line to -11 heading into Sunday’s game.

It marked the first time that the Bengals have been favoured by at least eight points under head coach Zac Taylor.

It was also the first time that Cincinnati was favoured by more than nine points on the road since 1982.

The Bengals were coming off a big win over the Ravens and considering they on the road against an inferior opponent, there was plenty of talk about it being a potential letdown spot.

I couldn’t bring myself to take the points with the Jets.

After all, this is the same team that lost to the New England Patriots 54-13 the previous week. At the same time, the Jets also beat the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in overtime in Week 4.

So, while I wouldn’t trust New York, all of that was enough to lead me to look for another option in my Survivor Pools in Week 8.

Again, hindsight is 20-20.

Still, if there is a lesson to be learned here, it’s to consider that no matter how lopsided the matchup appears to be on paper, upsets happen every week in the NFL. We saw some big ones on Sunday.

So, if you survived Week 8, then don’t take it for granted that we won’t see another big upset next week and approach your pick accordingly.

For me, all of that will be for naught if the Chiefs don’t deliver against the Giants on Monday Night Football.

Still, Sunday was another example of why NFL Survivor Pools are so popular, and I feel fortunate to have at least avoided those traps.

Whether you bet against the Jets or not, no one could have predicted that White would lead the entire league with 405 passing yards on Sunday.

In fact, one sportsbook that takes bets on which NFL quarterback will throw for the most passing yards each week had White at 100-to-1 to lead the league.

The 2018 fifth-round pick became the first QB since 1950 to throw for 400 yards and three scores in his first career start.

He also snapped the Jets’ streak of 27 straight games without scoring at least 30 points, which was the longest streak in the NFL.

Meanwhile, Rush stepped in for the injured Dak Prescott and led the Dallas Cowboys (+185 ML) to a 20-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

Rush threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, including a five-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper for the go-ahead score with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, it was the 26th time this season that the game-winning score happened in the final minute of regulation or overtime, which is tied for the most times that has happened through the first eight weeks of the season since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.

The Cowboys improved to 6-1 straight up and 7-0 against the spread this season. Dallas is the only NFL team that has covered the spread in every single game this season.

Finally, Smith led the Seattle Seahawks (-3.5) to a 31-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Of the three wins by backup quarterbacks, Smith and the Seahawks were actually a favourite.

NFL underdogs went 7-7 straight up and 8-5-1 against the spread on Sunday.

Monday Night Football Preps

As mentioned above, I’ll have a close interest watching the Chiefs battle the Giants on Monday Night Football on TSN tonight.

The lookahead line for this game was Kansas City -13.

However, coming off an ugly loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Chiefs opened as a 10-point favourite, and we have seen a small move to Kansas City -10.5.

The total opened at 52 and is currently 52.5.

While I’d be surprised if the Chiefs can’t pull out an important win over the Giants at home in prime time, I’m also not willing to lay the points with a Kansas City team that 0-3 ATS at home this season.

Kansas City is just the ninth team in the Super Bowl era to have a losing record through seven games despite being favoured in all seven games.

In terms of a best bet, I’ll turn to the one consistent in what has otherwise been an inconsistent season for the Chiefs, which is Patrick Mahomes using his legs.

Mahomes has averaged 39.6 rushing yards per game over his last five games, with at least 26 rushing yards in every game.

His rushing yard prop for Sunday Night Football is set at 23.5.

The protection issues combined with an emphasis on avoiding turnovers should make 24 rushing yards a reasonable floor for Mahomes against the Giants.

Most importantly, I’ll need that Chiefs win to survive and advance.

Astros avoid elimination

The Houston Astros (-130 ML) avoided elimination with a 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night.

Atlanta took a 4-0 lead on a grand slam from Adam Duvall in the bottom of the first, but the Astros outscored them 9-1 the rest of the way to keep their title hopes alive.

The Braves remain the favourite to win it all at -240 with a 3-2 series lead.

Houston is now +200 to win the next two games and the championship.

Game 6 goes Tuesday night in Houston.