Morning Coffee: Allen solidifies status as MVP favourite in statement win
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Some of us are riding high on this Monday morning after what we’d confidently consider a spectacular weekend.
Then there’s Josh Allen, who just lived the type of weekend that some of the newer members of Bills Mafia will grow up dreaming they can accomplish.
In fact, I even know of one 37-year-old sports bettor, producer, writer, contributor, and avid football fan that caught himself daydreaming about Allen’s remarkable accomplishments late into the night on Sunday.
On Friday, Allen and actress Hailee Steinfeld announced their engagement via Instagram.
Forty-eight hours later, Allen was setting records under the bright lights at Highmark Stadium, cementing his position as the betting favourite to win NFL regular-season MVP with the type of vintage performance that only a handful of his peers could possibly replicate in another statement win.
Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass, catch a touchdown pass, and run for a touchdown in the same game.
The 28-year-old completed 76.5 per cent of his pass attempts in the blustery winter conditions, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 35-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers with three total touchdowns.
With the victory, the Bills became just the fourth team since the divisions were reset in 2002 to clinch a division title with at least five regular-season games remaining.
With another outstanding individual performance, Allen solidified his status as the MVP frontrunner at FanDuel.
This is the Morning Coffee for Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
Allen solidifies status as MVP favourite
Just when we thought there wasn’t anything left for Allen to do that hadn’t already been done before, he did this.
The Bills franchise quarterback entered Week 13 as the favourite to win NFL regular-season MVP at +150. Allen is -230 to win that award at FanDuel this morning.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is the second choice to win NFL regular season MVP at +500.
No other player is shorter than +1100 at FanDuel.
A few weeks ago, I took a flyer on Allen to win MVP at +650 at FanDuel. With five regular-season games to go, I can’t imagine any other player getting a vote over Allen.
With another AFC East title wrapped up, the Bills will turn their attention to the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the potential to clinch home-field advantage for the playoffs.
Buffalo is a perfect 6-0 straight up at home this season.
The Bills are now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles as the second choice to win the Super Bowl at +500 at FanDuel. Only the Detroit Lions have shorter odds at +290.
There’s still a lot left to be decided over the final five weeks of the regular-season schedule. The AFC East division title isn’t one of them.
As far as I’m concerned, the same is true for NFL MVP.
A FanDuel Best Bet for Monday Night Football
Denver Broncos fans have waited a long time to watch their team play a home game on Monday Night Football.
For the first time since 2018, they’ll get the opportunity to do exactly that when Denver hosts the Cleveland Browns tonight.
The spread ticked up from Broncos -5.5 to -6.5 at FanDuel this morning.
Denver has been a surprise playoff contender with a 7-5 record through its first 12 games. The Broncos are the seventh seed in the AFC – a half-game back of the Baltimore Ravens for the sixth seed.
The Browns are sitting outside of a playoff spot at 3-8, but they have surprised with upset wins over the Ravens and Steelers since Jameis Winston took over at QB.
In terms of a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll go with Courtland Sutton to record 50+ receiving yards and Bo Nix to throw for 200+ passing yards at -110 odds.
Sutton has registered 70 or more receiving yards in five straight games. Now he gets to face a Cleveland defence that presents the perfect matchup with plenty of one-high man coverage schemes, which Sutton has thrived against this season.
Meanwhile, Nix is coming off back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Falcons and the Las Vegas Raiders in which he threw for 307 and 273 yards, respectively. Nix has thrown for at least 200 yards in five straight and seven of his previous eight games.
I considered pairing Sutton with the Broncos to win outright, but I’ll go with Nix as the second leg, expecting him to throw for 200 yards in a win or loss tonight.
The FanDuel Best Bet for Monday Night Football is a Same Game Parlay with Sutton 50+ receiving yards and Nix 200+ passing yards at -110 odds.
Enjoy the game and have a great day.