The New Orleans Saints entered their second preseason game looking for the answer to who will be their starting quarterback in Week 1 of the regular season.

It appears they have their answer.

Jameis Winston went 9-of-10 for 123 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.

Winston connected with Marquez Callaway on both of his touchdown passes. Both of those scores travelled at least 40 yards through the air.

For perspective, the Saints had just two touchdown passes with 40+ yards of air distance in the past two regular seasons combined.

So, it only makes sense that their fans would be a little more optimistic about their season outlook after that performance.

Meanwhile, Taysom Hill went 11-of-20 for 138 yards and a touchdown. It was a decent outing for Hill, but he didn’t look nearly as good as Winston and bettors were quick to react.

When last night’s game kicked off, Winston was -190 to take the first snap of the regular season for New Orleans. As of this morning, Winston’s odds to take the first snap have shifted all the way to -350.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021.

Saints futures

While Winston stole the spotlight, it was a disappointing ending for anybody who bet the Saints and the under.

After holding the Jaguars to three points through three quarters, New Orleans was outscored 18-0 in the fourth as Jacksonville covered as a 4.5-point underdog and pushed the total over 40.

That’s a bad beat.

For Jaguars’ fans, there wasn’t much to get excited about unless you bet on Jacksonville or the over.

After all, it was third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard who led the fourth-quarter rally with 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Trevor Lawrence went 14-of-23 for 113 yards. Lawrence was pressured on 41.7 per cent of his dropbacks, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

Gardner Minshew II went 13-of-21 for 149 yards with an interception.

Lawrence and Minshew have combined to lead the Jaguars to just a field goal through two preseason games.

As for the Saints, it’s hard to put too much stock into one preseason game. 

New Orleans is coming off four straight seasons with 11 wins or more.

Maybe Winston can contend with what future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees was able to give them last season, but that isn’t the only concern. 

Michael Thomas is hurt. Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook left New Orleans in the off-season.

Their defence also took a hit, with Trey Hendrickson, Malcolm Brown, Janoris Jenkins, Kwon Alexander and Alex Anzalone all leaving in the off-season.

Even with the move to a 17-game season, the Saints’ win total for 2021 is set at 9.0.

The good news is that they appear to have their starting quarterback.

However, with Thomas sidelined, New Orleans will need Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith to step up early on this season.

The Saints are currently 30-1 to win the Super Bowl, which leaves them just outside of the top-10 choices.

That’s a fair number for a team that returns a lot of talent but still has too many question marks to trust them to contend.

Yankees extend win streak to 10

Giancarlo Stanton hit his 21^st home run of the season and finished with three RBI as the New York Yankees (-110) beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 to extend their win streak to 10 in a row.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Yankees are on pace to win over 80 per cent of their games in August for just the second time in franchise history (1932).

They’ll try to extend baseball’s longest active win streak as a small underdog tonight in Atlanta with Andrew Heaney scheduled to start opposite Charlie Morton.

Meanwhile, the longest active losing streak in baseball will be on the line when the Baltimore Orioles host the Los Angeles Angels.

The Orioles have lost 18 in a row. Another loss would match the 2005 Kansas City Royals for the longest losing streak in the Wild Card era (1994).

Dylan Bundy will get the nod for the Angels against his former team. Baltimore will turn to Spencer Watkins, who hasn’t allowed fewer than four earned runs in any of his previous five starts.

The Angels are currently in the -130 range to win tonight.

Finau wins the Northern Trust

Tony Finau beat Cameron Smith in a playoff to win the Northern Trust.

It’s his first PGA Tour victory since 2016.

Finau, who was 50-1 to win the tournament, ended a winless drought that included eight runner-up finishes, including three playoff losses.

Next up, the BMW Championship from the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Md.

Jon Rahm, who had a two-shot lead at the turn on Monday before letting his lead slip away late, is the betting favourite to win the BMW Championship at +600.

Justin Thomas is the second choice at +1600. Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele are all +1800 to win it.

Finau is currently the 10^th choice to win the BMW Championship at +2200.

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