Podcasts · Sports

The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The Athletic

300 episodes

The Athletic’s flagship NFL podcast covers the league like only The Athletic can. Host Robert Mays and co-hosts Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive into the biggest stories, break down the Xs and Os, and tackle the ins and outs of roster building. They meticulously follow the details of why we all love this sport and have plenty of fun along the way, bringing the expertise necessary to cover the NFL at the highest level. You want year-round draft coverage? You'll get that here, too, with draft expert Dane Brugler. Whether it’s happening on the field or behind the scenes, you’ll get an in-depth look at all things NFL on The Athletic Football Show, available wherever you get your podcasts.

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Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. A surprising Steelers offense leads the Week 7 Hangover

    · 1 h 02 min

    That the Pittsburgh Steelers have managed to find a way to 5-2 through seven weeks shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with the franchise. That they've done it with an interesting offense, though, is a bit of a twist…

  2. Cowboys offense stomps injury-plagued Eagles 38-21

    · 33 min

    Things go from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC East matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Injuries, hot seat questions, a lost season for Jalen Hurts, and now a defensive collapse. Is it time for a…

  3. Week 7 recap: Seahawks = still very good, Bengals offense explodes & are the Ravens done?

    · 1 h 48 min

    Week 7 brought us its fair share of impressive performances. The Cincinnati Bengals used a 35-point run in the second half to throttle the Baltimore Ravens. The Minnesota Vikings kept doing things their way and got to…

  4. Week 7 preview: Super Bowl MVP returns, "biblical greed" consequences & deep dive on the Buccaneers defense

    · 1 h 27 min

    Week 7 brings us the following...a matchup of the franchises that have won three of the last four Super Bowls; the hopeful return of Lamar Jackson in a huge AFC North matchup; a big showdown in the NFC North, which…

  5. Bears hold off Patriots in Thursday night thriller

    · 32 min

    Caleb Williams and Drake Maye might have just given us a glimpse into the next decade of the NFL, and if they did, then we've got a great 10 years of football ahead of us. In this moment, though, the result was a 30-24…

  6. The answers to seven of our most pressing preseason questions

    · 1 h 15 min

    Way back in division preview time, we considered what we'd be watching for the first month of the season with each of the 32 teams. Welp, we're now six weeks into the season. What better time to take stock of how we…

  7. Are Colin Simmons and Charlie Becker locks for the first round?

    · 1 h 02 min

    Look, we don't want to get bogged down in weekly referenda on Arch Manning. But when he has a game like that against a defense like Florida's, and when we have a special guest who was a P4 quarterback, we have no…

  8. Week 6 Hangover: Colts era over, Eagles era paused, Giants era...McCarthy?

    · 1 h 04 min

    Just under a year ago, Chris Ballard made a "go big" trade for Sauce Gardner. Two wins and eleven losses later, he's going home. Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, is likely done for the season due to blood clots in his lungs.…

  9. 49ers stay perfect despite late scare in 23-17 win over Commanders

    · 34 min

    We got a true Tale of Two Halves in the Week 6 MNF match between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers. The Commanders could barely move the ball in the first half - a syndrome that seemed to rub off on the…

  10. Week 6 recap: Rams down bad, Texans & Jaguars put on a show, Caleb Williams returns with a bang

    · 1 h 50 min

    Six weeks ago, the Los Angeles Rams were not only the prohibitive favorite to win this season's Super Bowl. They were one of the biggest preseason favorites we've ever seen. Six weeks into the season, they're 2-4 and…

  11. Week 6 Preview: Six for 6

    · 1 h 26 min

    The Week 6 slate looks like a great regular season baseball team that doesn't quite have what it takes to get over the hump in October: a bunch of twos and threes, but no true ace. And so with that in mind, Robert…

  12. Broncos, in spite of their offense, beat Seahawks 17-14 on TNF

    · 34 min

    Of all the Thursday night games, that was definitely one of them. Somehow, someway, the Denver Broncos knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in a game where their offense totaled 168 yards, 2.9 yards per play, 13 first…

  13. Peter King on serendipity, change, and a life spent covering the NFL

    · 49 min

    Peter King is a man who needs no introduction in the world of sports media. He changed what it meant to be an NFL reporter, rising the ranks from beat writer covering the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1980s to one of the…

  14. Building the Beast: How Chris Cole & Drew Mestemaker are reaffirming their draft stock

    · 1 h 01 min

    Drew Mestemaker's latest outing has us ready to make some bold proclamations: he is QB1 in the 2027 NFL Draft. The week in college football was also highlighted by some of Georgia's best prospects - Chris Cole, KJ…

  15. Week 5 Hangover: C.J. Stroud is "f***ing awesome"

    · 1 h 11 min

    Week 5 in the NFL had everything you could want: overtime, on-the-fly scheme changes, defensive beatdowns, and a mid-game trade. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen pick up the leftovers from Sunday and deep dive into young…

  16. Bills stun special teams-plagued Rams in 37-34 OT win

    · 32 min

    There are a few things we knew before the season even started: Josh Allen is good at football, Monday Night Football games are best when they feature good teams, and the Los Angeles Rams have a special teams problem.…

  17. Week 5 Recap: 49ers & Vikings stay undefeated, Drake Maye goes off, WTF Bears?!

    · 1 h 47 min

    Through five weeks of the 2026 NFL season, two teams sit at 5-0. One of those teams, the San Francisco 49ers, got there with one of the wins of the season thus far, a 32-29 triumph over the Seattle Seahawks on the…

  18. Week 5 Preview: The first 49ers-Seahawks tilt of the season highlights the slate

    · 1 h 23 min

    The last time the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks played one another, home-field advantage on the NFC side of the bracket in last season's playoffs was on the line. It's not a stretch to say that their win in…

  19. Buccaneers shock Cowboys in Dallas, 24-16

    · 32 min

    The NFL world spent much of this past week anointing the Dallas Cowboys as the clear favorite in the NFC East after rough couple of days for the Philadelphia Eagles. Welp, so much for that! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers…

  20. The most surprising developments in the season's first month

    · 1 h 20 min

    We know the first month of the NFL season is going to surprise us, but we can't be sure exactly what those surprises are going to be. After all, if we knew what they were in advance, they wouldn't be surprises. With…

  21. Building the Beast: Austin Simmons and C.J. Carr get their turn in the QB Corner

    · 1 h 01 min

    We've spent most of our time this season with the loaded quarterback class focused on Arch Manning or Dante Moore or Drew Mestemaker. Three quarterbacks does not a loaded class make, though, so Dane Brugler and Dave…

  22. Week 4 Hangover: Bryce Young's big night, the Chargers season gets worse, and the Giants move into first place

    · 56 min

    Through four weeks, Bryce Young leads the NFL in passing yards and ranks seventh in EPA/dropback, sandwiched between Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes. Of course he does. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off the Week 4…

  23. Falcons stomp Saints behind dominant run game, 45-24

    · 29 min

    A strong outing from Michael Penix, a suffocating run game from Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr, and a Jeff Ulbrich classic. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the Week 4 Atlanta Falcons MNF win…

  24. Week 4 Recap: Chiefs and 49ers Remain unbeated, Jaguars win ugly, CeeDee Lamb goes off

    · 1 h 42 min

    As we wrap up the first month of the NFL season, we still have three undefeated teams across the league, and none of them would've been among the most likely candidates if we turned back the clock to August. Robert…

  25. Week 4 Preview: The Raiders are in our Game of the Week!

    · 1 h 28 min

    Broncos-49ers is one of our Games of the Week for Week 4. Which, sure, duh, that was easy to see coming before the season began. The other one, and the one getting top billing, is Chiefs-Raiders. That's right, the…

  26. Browns move to 3-1 with 27-24 win over Steelers

    · 28 min

    A back-and-forth night in Cleveland ended up in an unlikely spot...with the home team sitting at 3-1 on the first night of October. The Cleveland Browns knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-24, to begin Week 4.…

  27. What Trevor Lawrence's rise can teach us about NFL quarterbacks

    · 1 h 00 min

    Accompanied reading: Sando's 2026 quarterback tiers https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/nfl-quarterback-tiers-insider-rankings-2026/ Trevor Lawrence was the most baleyhooed quarterback coming out of college…

  28. Week 3 Hangover: Brian Flores is a menace, Mason Graham comes alive, and the Giants win ugly

    · 54 min

    An absolutely jam-packed Week 3 Sunday recap means we're back to our Hangover roots. Vikings over Bucs in a game where neither offense reached a 25% success rate? Hell yeah! The Browns improving to 2-1 with a 21-18 win…

  29. Bears, Case Keenum cruise past Eagles in 27-7 victory

    · 33 min

    No Caleb Williams, no problem. At least for one week. The Chicago Bears turned to third-string quarterback Case Keenum and he helped deliver them a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen…

  30. Week 3 Recap: Broncos stun Rams, Ravens upend Cowboys, Jaguars roll Patriots, and the 3-0 Raiders

    · 1 h 51 min

    We've got 15 more regular season weeks ahead of us, but it wouldn't be a surprise if we just saw what goes down as the best one in Week 3. We had 12 one-score games (two of those were eight-point differences, but…

  31. Week 3 Preview

    · 1 h 26 min

    The Ravens, Cowboys, Rams and Broncos all began this year at our Contender's Table. They're all now 1-1, but we aren't too worried about any of them just yet. And hey, they get together to give us our Games of the Week…

  32. Falcons run all over Packers for first win of season

    · 33 min

    Time to add the Packers to the list of teams ready to hit the panic button before we even turn the calendar to October. The Falcons, meanwhile, finally had a nice day at the office in Michael Penix's return to the…

  33. Is This Real?

    · 57 min

    **Game Show Audience Voice** IS...THIS...REAL?!? That's right, it's time for one of our favorite annual traditions, a round of Is This Real? with Robert Mays and Bill Barnwell from ESPN. On this year's edition, the…

  34. Building the Beast: Trinidad Chambliss is climbing the boards

    · 56 min

    Over the weekend, LSU got - as the kids say - cooked by Trinidad Chambliss. The Ole Miss quarterback burst onto the scene last season and it looks like he has no intention of slowing down. Dave Helman and Dane Brugler…

  35. Week 2 Hangover: The Chiefs are back, the Seahawks look dominant, and the Steelers are sad

    · 1 h 01 min

    The Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts saved an otherwise strange Sunday across the NFL with their overtime thriller on Sunday Night Football. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off the Week 2…

  36. MNF Recap: Rams get right over Dart-less Giants

    · 29 min

    Week 2 was a stark departure from Week 1 for a number of teams, so it was fitting that the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants put a bow on the week in the way that they did. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave…

  37. Week 2 Recap: Bengals, Saints, Broncos score big wins on weird Sunday

    · 1 h 39 min

    Need more proof that the NFL is a week-to-week league? Well, after tying the record for most points scored in Week 1 to kick off the season, scoring came all the way back down to earth in Week 2. The day was further…

  38. Week 2 Preview

    · 1 h 27 min

    All it takes is one week of regular season football to get us back in the swing of things. And that means that the traditional weekly previews are back. We've got Bengals-Texans and Jaguars-Broncos as Games of the…

  39. Bills cruise to big win over Lions behind Josh Allen magic

    · 30 min

    Another week, another huge Josh Allen game. What's new, right? The Buffalo Bills raced out to an early lead on Thursday night behind Allen and never looked back, coasting to a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions. Robert…

  40. First impressions of the teams that FLOPPED in Week 1

    · 1 h 03 min

    Accompanied reading: Sando on special teams https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7578843/2026/09/10/rams-special-teams-sean-mcvay-packers/ Week 1 did not exactly go according to plan for a quartet of teams with big…

  41. Building the Beast: Drew Mestemaker back on the NFL Draft radar after Oregon upset

    · 59 min

    Week 2 of the college football season gave us a pair of great quarterback matchups, with Drew Mestemaker and Dante Moore sharing a field in Eugene, and Arch Manning and Julian Sayin squaring off in Austin. That's where…

  42. Week 1 Hangover: Impressive 2026 debuts for the Ravens, Jets and Raiders

    · 1 h 18 min

    We all know Sundays are jam-packed. They're so busy, in fact, that we can't possibly cover every game from the day in our Sunday night recap show. And that's why The Hangover is back once again in 2026. Every Tuesday,…

  43. Chiefs dominate Broncos behind big night from Kenneth Walker

    · 32 min

    The Denver Broncos flipped the script on the Kansas City Chiefs last year, ending the latter's reign atop the AFC West and coming within one win of the Super Bowl. We're not going to draw any sweeping conclusions after…

  44. Week 1 Recap: Bills, Bears & Jaguars shine, Chargers & Packers flop

    · 1 h 23 min

    With all due respect to the first two games of this season, the NFL is truly back when we get our first full Sunday of action. We just put a bow on that, and we are oh so back. Josh Allen immediately commenced doing…

  45. 49ers manhandle Rams on Thursday Night Football

    · 32 min

    All the offseason narrative goes out the window the moment the actual games start, as the Rams learned the hard way on Thursday. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman break down the 49ers' 27-7 drubbing of the…

  46. Week 1 Preview

    · 44 min

    The 2026 NFL season is just getting underway. We've got plenty of time for in-depth breakdowns and thoughtful analysis on the most intriguing matchups a Sunday has to offer. For Week 1, it's all vibes. Robert Mays,…

  47. Recap: Seahawks beat Patriots in season opener

    · 29 min

    Well, that's not exactly how the Seattle Seahawks drew up the start of their Super Bowl title defense. It's not exactly a portent of good things to come when your starting quarterback gets injured five plays into the…

  48. Predictions and award picks for the 2026 NFL season

    · 1 h 21 min

    Labor Day is behind us. The summer is effectively over. Over these last few months, we parsed every move made in free agency, broke down the NFL Draft, and pushed through the May and June doldrums. As the weather…

  49. Building the Beast: Darian Mensah and Trinidad Chambliss put down NFL Draft markers in Week 1

    · 49 min

    Week 1 of the college football season is in the books, and we've already got 2027 NFL Draft prospects putting important moments on tape. Dave Helman and Dane Brugler jump into the earliest of early returns on this…

  50. The 2026 TAFS Wins Pool Draft

    · 1 h 01 min

    Most competitions are about winning. Some, however, are about not losing. This is one of the latter. That's right, it's time for the 2026 TAFS Wins Pool Draft. Come in first or second, and breathe a sigh of relief.…

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