Matthew Stafford is now the third choice to win NFL regular-season MVP.
He wouldn’t be nearly as high on the board without the 10th name on that list of MVP contenders.
Stafford entered Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at +1000 to win MVP.
After throwing for 244 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-10 win over the NFC West rival Seahawks, Stafford’s odds to win the award shortened to +900.
There are only two quarterbacks with shorter odds right now: Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
Meanwhile, Cooper Kupp recorded nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Seattle.
For what it’s worth, the 136 receiving yards represents 55.74 per cent of Stafford’s total passing yards production.
Kupp’s MVP odds have been adjusted from 100-to-1 to 50-to-1 following another dominant performance, making him a top-10 choice heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
While he might not have the resume to win regular-season MVP, there’s no doubt that Kupp has been the most valuable player for countless bettors and fantasy football managers who were propelled to a playoff win by his performance on Tuesday night.
Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021.
Kupp shines again in win over Seahawks
In terms of a player props MVP, Kupp moved into pole position on my list with another brilliant performance against the Seahawks.
Kupp finished with at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown for the third straight game. He’s the only player in the NFL to post such a streak this season – and he’s done it twice!
Kupp leads the league with 122 receptions, 1625 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Kupp is on pace to become the fourth player since the 1970 merger to win the NFL receiving Triple Crown, following Steve Smith (2005), Sterling Sharpe (1992) and Jerry Rice (1990).
While he might not win MVP, it will be a sprint to the finish between Kupp and Jonathan Taylor for NFL Offensive Player of the Year honours.
As of this morning, Kupp and Taylor are both -105 to win Offensive Player of the Year.
Meanwhile, the Rams are now one win away from clinching a playoff berth and are tied for first place in the NFC West at 10-4 with three games to go.
After last night’s win, L.A. is +140 to win its division.
The Arizona Cardinals remain the betting favourite to win the NFC West at -160.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Seattle less than a 0.1 per cent chance to make the postseason following last night’s loss.
Hurts leads Eagles to crucial win
While Kupp kept the Rams in the conversation for a division title on Tuesday night, Jalen Hurts kept the Philadelphia Eagles in the thick of the NFC playoff race by leading his team to a 27-17 win over the short-handed Washington Football Team.
Hurts finished with 296 passing yards, 38 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles picked up a crucial victory as a -480 money line favourite.
Per ESPN’s FPI, Philadelphia’s playoff chances climbed to 33 per cent with the win.
Despite turning the ball over on their first two drives, the Eagles rallied around Hurts with 519 yards of offence, which is tied for their most in a game since 2015.
With Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen sidelined due to COVID-19, Garrett Gilbert was forced into the starting job on short notice for Washington.
The Philadelphia defence did a good job keeping him off balance all night, as he went just 20-of-31 for 194 yards in the loss.
The Eagles will head into the final stretch tied with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints for the final NFC wild-card spot at 7-7, one game back of the San Francisco 49ers at 8-6.
Meanwhile, Washington’s playoff chances dropped to 6.2 per cent with the loss.
Lightning beat Knights in final game before NHL pause
The reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in the final NHL game before the league pauses games through Christmas Day.
Steven Stamkos scored the game-winning goal on the power play midway through the third period. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 38 of the 41 shots he faced.
While the league is putting together a revised schedule for play to resume, the reality is that we won’t know what’s next until we get an update. Even then, we still have a lot to learn in terms of who will be available once games are set to return.
The TSN Hockey Insiders addressed several issues on Tuesday, including what’s next for the NHL and an announcement on the Beijing Olympics expected to come today.
All we can do at this point is hope that everybody dealing with the virus recovers quickly and could return to the ice as soon as it is deemed safe.
