The dogs were barking in the NFL Week 5.
For the first time since Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season, underdogs finished a week with a winning record at 9-5.
Week 5 also featured three of the biggest upsets this season with the San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, and New England Patriots all pulling off outright wins as underdogs of 7.5 points or more.
Anybody looking to bounce back after a rough Sunday was in for a rude surprise on Monday Night Football.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars rallied to pull off the 31-28 win – their largest comeback since 2022.
Jacksonville to win outright live could be found as high as +420 on the FanDuel app.
After five double-digit comeback wins over the first four weeks of the regular season, there were six double-digit comeback victories in Week 5 alone, matching the most in one week since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.
If you tailed my best bets in Morning Coffee and The Playbook, you finished in the green again in Week 5.
Hopefully, you also advanced in your NFL Survivor Pools by avoiding the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, and the Chiefs.
As for the Jaguars, their 4-1 record matches their best start through five games since 2007.
Liam Coen is the second choice to win AP NFL Coach of the Year behind Shane Steichen of the Indianapolis Colts.
Jacksonville (+115) is also a close second choice to win the AFC South behind Indianapolis (+100) this morning, setting the stage for what could be an interesting division race with those teams set to meet twice over the final five weeks of the NFL regular season.
The Jaguars are -355 to make the playoffs at FanDuel.
Speaking of cats from the Sunshine State, the two-time defending Stanley Cup Florida Panthers are set to drop the puck on the 2025-26 NHL season later today.
While critics have pointed to injuries and fatigue as the biggest reasons the Panthers won’t win the Eastern Conference for the fourth year in a row, FanDuel’s current NHL futures markets imply a different sentiment.
Let’s lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for the Opening Day of the 2025-26 NHL season in this Morning Coffee column for Tuesday October 7th, 2025.
Panthers Begin Their Quest For Historic Stanley Cup Three-Peat
An interesting thing happened late this NHL offseason.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers went from the favourite to the sixth choice to win it all again after captain Aleksander Barkov suffered a potentially season-ending injury.
At the time, I pointed out that all five teams with shorter odds to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel compete in the Western Conference, setting up an intriguing scenario.
Essentially, if you could accurately predict the best team in the Eastern Conference, you would get them at better odds to win it all than at least one Western Conference team that literally could not make it past the first round of the playoffs, since only four teams can make it that far.
While I’ve backed the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs as the teams I believe have the best chance to end Florida’s epic run of three consecutive Stanley Cup appearances, I’m not sold on either Atlantic rival.
With Matthew Tkachuk expected to return sometime early in 2026, and the possibility that Barkov could still return in time for another postseason run, the Panthers might still be the East’s deepest and most talented team.
There’s also the potential for GM Bill Zito to fill out his roster via trades before the deadline, the same way he did when he acquired Brad Marchand and Seth Jones ahead of last year’s Stanley Cup repeat.
So, when I revisited the Stanley Cup odds on FanDuel NHL Futures Day last Friday, I wasn’t surprised that the Cats had re-emerged as the favourite to win it all again.
A lot can change between now and April 2026, but the change that comes our way might not necessarily be a bad thing for the two-time defending champions.
The Western Conference is a gauntlet with the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Colorado Avalanche all among the top six choices to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.
In the Eastern Conference, it’s Florida and the Carolina Hurricanes among the top six choices to win it all.
Yes, the same Hurricanes that are 1-16 in their previous 17 games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After that, it’s the Lightning, Maple Leafs, and New Jersey Devils as the top choices to contend in the East.
I’m not willing to write off the Cats against those teams.
As for the present moment, the Panthers will begin their quest to three-peat as the biggest favourite on the board at FanDuel for the Opening Day of the NHL season.
Florida is -285 to beat the Chicago Blackhawks, down from -300 at FanDuel late Monday night.
The New York Rangers are -225 to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins at FanDuel this evening.
The Los Angeles Kings are a pick’em at home against the visiting Colorado Avalanche in the late game.
Let’s try to start the 2025-26 NHL season off on a high note with a FanDuel Best Bet winner for today’s games.
Bennett on tomorrow’s banner raising:
“We’re back in it now. The focus shifts now, and we’ve got work to do. It’s an emotional night seeing the banner go up. After the puck drops, it’s back to business.”
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 6, 2025
First up, I’ll lock in a +109 builder Same Game Parlay with Bennett and Marchand to both record 1+ point.
This tandem was dominant during last year’s Stanley Cup run – albeit on different lines.
It appears head coach Paul Maurice will begin the season with Bennett and Marchand skating together on a top line that also features Carter Verhaeghe.
#FlaPanthers lines in practice
Verhaeghe – Bennett – Marchand
Luostarinen – Lundell – Reinhart
Samoskevich – Rodrigues – Boqvist
Greer – Kunin – Gadjovich
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Kulikov – Petry
Bobrovsky
Tarasov
Extras: Gregor, Balinskis, Schwindt
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 6, 2025
In last year’s season opener against the Boston Bruins,
Bennett scored twice and registered four shots on goal.
He didn’t register a point in either game against the Blackhawks last season, but he did average four shots on goal in two head-to-head meetings.
After leading the Panthers with 22 points in 23 playoff games on the way to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP, Bennett will have every opportunity to produce early this season on the top line and the top powerplay unit.
Meanwhile, Marchand has been dominant against Chicago throughout his career, registering at least one point in six of his last seven games against them.
With Tkachuk out, Marchand gets a bump to begin the year on Florida’s top line and top powerplay unit.
The Panthers are a massive favourite against Chicago.
I’ll bank on Florida’s top line to deliver in the opener.
Next up, the Rangers have a new head coach in Mike Sullivan and a new captain in J.T. Miller, who will centre a top line that features Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle.
Miller has put up some impressive point totals against the Penguins throughout his career and will be looking to set the tone as the captain in New York following a disappointing season.
Pittsburgh is expected to be one of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams again this season.
While there is always the potential for an upset on the opening day of the season, I’ll bank on Miller to lead the Rangers to a win over the Penguins.
I’ll add a Same Game Parlay with Miller to record 1+ point and the New York to win outright at -121 to my card.
Finally, give me another builder SGP with Nathan MacKinnon to record 1+ point, 2+ shots on goal, and Adrian Kempe to record 2+ shots on goal at -122 for the late game between the Avalanche and Kings.
MacKinnon registered 116 points in 79 games last season, including four assists in two games against LA.
Colorado is coming off a disappointing playoff exit, and MacKinnon should be motivated entering a crossroads year for the organization.
MacKinnon is expected to skate with Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen at 5-on-5, while Necas, Cale Makar, Brock Nelson, and Valeri Nichushkin will join him on the top powerplay for the Avalanche.
Meanwhile, Kempe registered three or more shots on goal in all three meetings with Colorado last season and averaged nearly three shots per game overall (2.93).
Reunited with Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko on the top line for LA, Kempe should be able to get me the two shots on goal I need to cash this builder SGP.
Hopefully, we can go 3-0 on the first day of the NHL season.
Have a great day, everyone!