Morning Coffee: Jackson adds to MVP resume with comeback win over Bengals

Joe Burrow built his reputation on defying the odds. 

Still, even for him, there are some challenges that are too difficult to overcome. 

Yes, that is exactly how I started Thursday’s column. 

24 hours later, it’s remarkable how that still resonates. 

Burrow went 24-of-54 for 428 yards and four touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. 

His superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase hauled in 11 receptions for 264 yards and three touchdowns. 

Despite a remarkable performance by Burrow and Chase, and the fact that they led by 14 points in the second half, the Cincinnati Bengals ultimately lost the game. 

The Bengals had won 32 straight games when leading by 14 or more points in the second half prior to last night’s loss in Baltimore. 

Burrow went over his completions, attempts, passing yards, and touchdown props at FanDuel. 

His two-highest passing yardage totals this season have both come against the Ravens. 

He lost both games. 

Of course, Cincinnati covered as a 5.5-point favourite as Burrow improved to 13-3 against the spread in games when he has been an underdog of three points or more. 

While anybody who bet the Bengals against the spread at FanDuel will be satisfied with that cover, their fans won’t take much solace after their team fell to 0-5 against teams with a winning record this season. 

This is the Morning Coffee for Friday November 8th, 2024. 

Jackson Adds To MVP Resume With Comeback Win Over Bengals 

The countdown to Thursday Night Football was a little bit of a strange one for this writer. 

I was on the Ravens to win outright on a couple of FanDuel Same Game Parlays and SGP+’s. 

I was surprised by the level of confidence that some analysts had in the potential for Cincinnati to pull off the outright win. 

Of course, the Bengals have played their AFC North rivals tight in both meetings this season. 

At the same time, they were without a couple of key players in Tee Higgins and Zack Moss, and they were 0-4 straight up against opponents with a winning record heading into the game. 

The combination of a remarkable performance by Burrow and Chase with several first-half mistakes and penalties by the Ravens led to Cincinnati taking a double-digit lead with the football early in the third quarter. 

Then Chase Brown fumbled and Baltimore rallied with 28 points in the final 19:12 of regulation time – the most points by any team in a second half this season. 

It was the Ravens’ league-high third double-digit comeback win this season 

It was also the sixth time in the last seven games that the Ravens have scored at least 30 points or more. 

As was the case with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, I never doubted Baltimore at any point. 

It’s strange that as was the case with the Chiefs, it just always seemed like a matter of time before the Ravens turned things around and when it happened it was fun to watch. 

At the same time, I certainly could have used one or two more catches from Zay Flowers, who was the lone disappointment among my FanDuel Best Bet recommendations in Thursday morning’s column. 

The biggest difference between last night’s game and Monday night’s game is that I thought the Bengals should have attempted the extra point at the end and trusted that their defence would hold if things didn’t go their way. 

Of course, it’s easy to make that point in hindsight, but I felt strongly like Cincinnati was very much live after a couple of late scores, while I would have expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go for two late in the fourth quarter of their loss in Kansas City on Monday night. 

With the loss, the Bengals fell to 4-6 and their odds to make the playoffs are currently off the board at FanDuel. 

The Ravens improved to 7-3 and are the third choice to win the Super Bowl at +600 behind only the Chiefs (+420) and the Detroit Lions (+480). 

Turning the page this morning, it’s time to lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for Sunday’s NFL action. 

I’m going back to Khalil Shakir for another strong performance against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. 

We cashed with the over on the Shakir receptions and receiving yards props in Week 9. 

I locked in Shakir over 4.5 receptions again for Week 10. 

Shakir has cleared this mark in three straight games since getting healthy again with 6+ receptions in each of them. 

He’s averaged a team-high 7.3 receptions for 74 yards over that three-game span. 

On Sunday, Shakir will face an Indianapolis defence that has allowed the 10th-highest receptions per game (11.8) to opposing wide receivers this season. 

The Colts also play a heavy run zone coverage, which Shakir has thrived against this season. 

With Keon Coleman sidelined and Amari Cooper potentially still getting up to speed following an injury, Shakir’s number should be higher as Allen’s No. 1 receiver. 

I’ll take Shakir over 4.5 receptions as a FanDuel Best Bet. 

As for tonight, we have a loaded NBA slate that features three games on TSN and TSN+. 

I’ll lock in a builder SGP+ with Derrick White to score 15+ points, the Boston Celtics to beat the Brooklyn Nets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to score 20+ points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Houston Rockets at +114 odds. 

White has averaged 19.8 points per game this season, with 17 or more points in five straight games. 

His average jumps to 21.0 points per game at home, and he should be busy again with Jaylen Brown still sidelined due to injury against a Brooklyn Nets’ team that has struggled against opposing shooting guards this season. 

The Celtics are coming off just their second loss of the season, so this should be a good bounce back spot as a 13-point favourite at home on a Friday night. 

Finally, SGA is the favourite to win NBA regular season MVP at FanDuel at +280 odds. 

He’s averaged 26.0 points, 6.8 assists and 6.0 rebounds while scoring 18 or more points in every game. 

I’ll bank on him to score at least 20 points in a big win at home over the Rockets. 

The best bets in this column are 6-2 since Monday, which means we are already guaranteed to finish in the green. 

Hopefully, we can stay hot and finish the week 8-2.  

Have a great weekend, everyone!