The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Latest Episodes:

A pre-Thanksgiving NFL Draft feast with Dane Brugler Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

The college football regular season is winding to a close, which means our discussions around the 2025 NFL Draft are heating up. Dane Brugler joins Robert Mays to check in on where the class stands on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the rookie campaigns being put together by Drake Maye, Brock Bowers, Jared Verse and Bo Nix. Before all that, though, The Athletic's Chargers beat reporter Daniel Popper gets on the mic with Robert to recap the Ravens' win over the Chargers on Monday night.

Rundown

Ravens-Chargers MNF recap
Emerging polarization in the 2025 NFL Draft class
Dane's initial flag planting
The 2025 quarterbacks, headlined by Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward
Intriguing pairings in the top 10
Drake Maye is a dude
Should the Jets have taken Brock Bowers?
Should the Falcons have taken Jared Verse?
Why the Bo Nix/Broncos pairing is working

Host: Robert Mays

With: Daniel Popper and Dane Brugler

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Daniel on X: @danielrpopper

Follow Dane on X: @dpbrugler

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 12 recap: Everything gets real at Thanksgiving Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

On the 49ers-Packers broadcast in Week 12, Tom Brady said that teams aren't who they really are until Thanksgiving. We might not be at Turkey Day quite yet, but it's a late Thanksgiving this year, so we can make an exception. We saw a whole lot of true colors on the field in Week 12. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen are here to break it all down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

Eagles dominate Rams
Packers run game...You Have My Attention!
Seahawks defense...You Have My Attention!
Titans-Texans...WTF?!?
Do the Texans have a Wild Card Round ceiling?
Washington Commanders...WTF?!?
Bryce Young nearly one-upped the Chiefs
Jonnu Smith is the Dolphins' top pass-catcher now?
Baker Mayfield has found his place...and we're all better off for it
Anthony Richardson has three types of games
Caleb Williams' best performance of the season
What Did We Learn Today?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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YouTube

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future of the NFL on TV Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

If you're the type of NFL fan who wants to watch every game, you've tuned into at least seven different networks and streamers this season. It isn't likely that sort of market segmentation is going away any time soon. So how will we be watching football in 2030, 2040 and beyond? Robert Mays is joined by Andrew Marchand, The Athletic's senior sports media columnist, to dive deep into the NFL broadcasting future on this episode of The Money Down, a special four-part miniseries on the business of the NFL from The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

With: Andrew Marchand

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Chris Flannery

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Andrew on X: @AndrewMarchand

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 12 preview: Harbowl III is upon us Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Week 12 marks the end of the middle-third of the regular season and pushes us into the start of the stretch run toward the playoffs. What better way to celebrate that than with the third meeting between the Harbaugh brothers as head coaches in the NFL? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off the Week 12 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show by digging into Ravens-Chargers and 49ers-Packers. The guys also highlight one thing apiece from Eagles-Rams and Cardinals-Seahawks, consider the playoff chances for the Colts and Buccaneers, wonder if we've hit the Kliff Cliff, and more.

Rundown

Game of the Week: Ravens at Chargers
Game of the Week: 49ers at Packers
One Thing From...Eagles at Rams
One Thing From...Cardinals at Seahawks
Are the Colts really still alive in the playoff hunt?
Have we reached the Kliff Cliff?
Wins Pool Update...it's not going well for Robert
Caleb Williams and the Bears vs. Robert Flores and the Vikings
The Buccaneers' path to the NFC South title

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Silver linings for the NFL's bad teams Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

Look, not everyone can be a Super Bowl contender. Plenty of teams aren't even playoff contenders. More than half the league misses the playoffs, and many of those teams are bad. Some are very bad. But that doesn't mean they can't take something from the 2024 season. Robert Mays and Conor Orr from Sports Illustrated and the MMQB find silver linings for those bad teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

Texans-Cowboys MNF recap
Jets fire Joe Douglas
Silver lining for the 2024 Jets
Silver lining for the 2024 Panthers
Silver lining for the 2024 Giants
Silver lining for the 2024 Patriots
Silver lining for the 2024 Raiders
Silver lining for the 2024 Browns
Silver lining for the 2024 Titans
Silver lining for the 2024 Jaguars
The Ball Knower...all Lions, all the time

Host: Robert Mays

With: Conor Orr

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Conor on X: @ConorOrr

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 11 recap: The Bills stake their claim to AFC supremacy, the Steelers take control of the AFC North, the Broncos make a statement, and more Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

The Bills-Chiefs rivalry delivered yet again, with the Bills handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season. The Ravens-Steelers rivalry delivered, too, and now the Steelers find themselves in command of the AFC North. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into those games, plus the Broncos statement win over the Falcons, the befuddling 49ers—as well as the broader picture of the NFC West—Anthony Richardson's triumphant return, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

Bills make a statement with win over Chiefs
Bengals and Chargers give us a great one on Sunday night
Steelers defense...You Have My Attention!
The Denver Broncos...You Have My Attention!
WTF is this 49ers season?
Settling for a 46-yard field goal, Matt Eberflus? WTF?!?
Anthony Richardson's triumphant return
Tua's making plays on the move
The Jaguars scored first against the Lions...and then the Lions won 52-6
Taysom Hill's monster day
What Did We Learn Today?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The disappearance of the star cornerback, with Domonique Foxworth Nov 16, 2024

Show notes

Justin Jefferson: Four years, $140 million. CeeDee Lamb: Four years, $136 million. Amon-Ra St. Brown: Four years, $120 million. A.J. Brown: Three years, $96 million. The market for wide receivers has exploded in recent years. But what about the players tasked with slowing them down...the cornerbacks? Their market has stagnated. Moreover, the position that defined cool in the era of Deion Sanders seems almost devoid of superstars in 2024. What happened to the star cornerback? Robert Mays explores that question with Domonique Foxworth, who covers the NFL for ESPN and spent seven years playing corner in the league, on this episode of The Money Down, a special four-part miniseries from The Athletic Football Show focused on the business of the NFL.

Host: Robert Mays

With: Domonique Foxworth

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Chris Flannery

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Domonique on X: @Foxworth24

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 11 preview: The latest installments in the Chiefs-Bills and Ravens-Steelers rivalries are here Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

Chiefs-Bills week has become a hallmark of the Patrick Mahomes/Josh Allen era, and the 2024 edition is upon us. But hey, there's more! The first Ravens-Steelers game of the season is on Sunday, too. Seahawks-49ers, Falcons-Broncos and Bengals-Chargers, oh my! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into all that, and a whole lot more, on a jam-packed Week 11 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

Commanders-Eagles recap
Game of the Week: Chiefs at Bills
Game of the Week: Ravens at Steelers
One thing from...Seahawks at 49ers
One thing from...Falcons at Broncos
One thing from...Bengals at Chargers
The sneaky fun part of Rams-Patriots
Could the Dolphins make the playoffs?
Take Tribunal: We need to rethink how we conceive of good and bad quarterback situations
What Do You Wanna Know?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The awards races at midseason, with Bill Barnwell Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

The best time to hand out midseason awards is one week beyond the halfway point of the season. Everybody knows this. Bill Barnwell of ESPN joins Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen to do just that on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys discuss Lamar's possible third MVP, the potential of Mike Tomlin winning his first—yes, first—Coach of the Year Award, and a whole lot more.

Rundown

Dolphins-Rams recap
Bears fire Shane Waldron
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Executive of the Year
Assistant Coach of the Year
Coach of the Year
MVP
Pleasant-est Surprise
Biggest Dissapointment
Strongest Narrative Changer

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Bill Barnwell

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Spotify

YouTube

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Bill on X: @billbarnwell

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 10 recap: Steelers-Commanders lives up to the billing, Chiefs and Lions win ugly, and more Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

The Game of the Week lived up to the billing in Week 10, with the Steelers pulling out a 28-27 win over the Commanders. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 10 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also marvel at the Chiefs voodoo magic, highlight the Cardinals' rise, raise an eyebrow in the 49ers' direction, and discuss the rest of the developments that grabbed them on Sunday.

Rundown