With five days to go until Conference Championship Sunday, the football world is waiting for an update on the status of the best player in the National Football League.

Patrick Mahomes, who was diagnosed with a concussion after being forced to leave Sunday’s 22-17 win over the Cleveland Browns, has to clear the concussion protocol before he gets the green light to play.

If he can play, it would set up one of the best quarterback fields of all-time for a Conference Championship weekend with Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen and Tom Brady.

That field includes the top three betting favourites to win NFL MVP this season and the greatest quarterback of all-time.

Is it Sunday yet?

Here is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday Jan. 19, 2021.

AFC Championship Game Thoughts

Mahomes’ injury led to a wide range of opening lines for this week’s AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Bills.

Per ESPN’s David Purdum, the number ranged from Chiefs -4 all the way to Bills -2.5 at different sportsbooks around the world.

That line has settled at Kansas City -3 at most spots, which has generated some interesting debate early on this week.

Should bettors jump on Buffalo +3 right now to get some value in the event that Mahomes isn’t available to play on Sunday?

Personally, I wouldn’t advise it.

As far as I’m concerned, the fact that the number has settled at Chiefs -3 in an indication that the market believes Mahomes will play this week and so do I.

So the question becomes whether or not the Bills can hang with Kansas City with Mahomes in the lineup.

The Chiefs are 24-1 dating back to Week 11 of last season, including playoffs, in games that Mahomes starts. All but one of those 24 wins was by three points or more.

If Mahomes is cleared to play, the number for this game will almost certainly climb to four points or higher.

If I lock in Kansas City -3 now, then as long as Mahomes is cleared to play I should have the optimal number for backing the Chiefs with an opportunity to take Buffalo at a better number later in the week.

I do think the Bills have legitimate upset potential, regardless of whether Mahomes plays or not.

Still, I’d rather lock in Kansas City -3 now in anticipation of Mahomes being cleared and then see where the number settles later in the week before deciding if it’s worth backing Buffalo to cover.

NFC Championship Game Outlook

My early lean for the NFC Championship Game is towards the Green Bay Packers over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While I’m leaning Packers, I’m not in any rush to play it.

The Buccaneers have been a public team and after last week’s upset win over the New Orleans Saints, I wouldn’t be shocked if the number for this game moved down from Green Bay -3.5 to -3.

Last week, Tampa Bay was a three-point underdog against the Saints for most of the week and then early Sunday morning that number moved to New Orleans -2.5.

Will we see that type of line movement again this week?

Maybe not, but I’m willing to wait and see if it moves from 3.5 to 3.

Raptors Win, Raptors Win

The Toronto Raptors scored their most impressive win of the season on Monday night – a 116-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Kyle Lowry led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Chris Boucher also delivered another strong performance off the bench with 21 points and 10 boards.

That’s three straight wins for a Raptors team that opened 2-8.

Toronto, which was a -3.5 favourite, has now covered in three of its last six overall.

The Raptors will play a pair of back-to-back sets against the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers before games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic to close out the month.

Can they claw their way above the .500 mark before the end of January?

At the very least, Raptors’ fans have some reason for hope that this team will be able to turn its season around.