The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

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 Helman recap the Rams' 28-6 win over the Giants on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and...

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 dampened by injuries to Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Still, there were some big winners, across the league. Such as the Cincinnati Bengals, who rode their defense—yes, defense—to beat the Houston Texan...

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 Week. We've got One Thing From three more big games. We've got a trip down to Sicko Street. And we've got a brand new segment for all of you. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman preview Week 2 on this episode of T...

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 Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the game on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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Host: Robert Mays

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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 expectations. Those teams? The Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos. Why was that the case for those four teams? And what can they do to turn those Week 1 disappointments into an ab...

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 Dave Helman and Dane Brugler kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show’s Building the Beast. The guys also discuss a trio of QB risers and fallers, and check in on a receiver Draftniks need to know.&n...

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, we'll dive deep into a handful of games we didn't get to on Sunday, and this year, we'll plan to save at least one meaty game per week for the Hangover. In the Week 1 edition, that game is the Baltimore Ravens' 41-23 ...

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 one game, but if Week 1 is any indication, the Broncos might not want to get used to life atop the division. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman break down the Chiefs' comfortable 31-10 win over the Broncos o...

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 Josh Allen things. The Chicago Bears scored 59 points. The Arizona Cardinals pulled off a massive upset of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Minnesota Vikings sprung a massive comeback on the Green Bay Packers, and the New ...

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 Rams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Sponsored by @usbank.

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Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dav...

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, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman officially kick off the season by discussing what they're most excited to watch in Week 1 on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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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 season. But a great defense can do a whole lot for any team, and it did so for the Seahawks once again in the first game of the 2026 season, a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Da...

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 heated up, Robert Mays went out on the road for a month, visiting 21 training camps. More recently, we previewed all 32 teams in the league. There's only one thing left to do: make some predictions. Robert, Derrik Klassen ...

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 episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast.

Co-Hosts: Dane Brugler and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

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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. Finish in last, and get ready to embarrass yourself in front of all of cour colleagues at the Super Bowl. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman pick eight teams apiece in front of a live audience on this episode of...

We have done it. We've reached the end of the line. The eighth and final divison preview is here, and it is the loaded NFC West. Is it possible for the Rams to have a successful season without winning the Super Bowl? How do the Seahawks replace the key players who left last year's Super Bowl champ during the offseason? What must the 49ers do to keep their championship window ajar. And what's really at stake for the Cardinals in 202...

The NFC North could very well be the deepest division in football. At the same time, there might not be an inner-circle Super Bowl contender among the four teams in the division. What must the Lions do to keep their championship window open? How do the Packers find their way through the playoff issues that have plagued them the last three years? What's the next step on offense for the Bears? And can Kyler Murray get the Vikings bac...

Once the butt of jokes across the league, the AFC South produced two teams that won at least 12 games last year, and for a time looked like it could get three teams into the playoffs. The Texans and Jaguars return this year as teams with legitimate aspirations to make deep postseason runs, while the Colts and Titans have reason to believe that they could notch the sorts of improvements that would push them to growth in 20...

The New England Patriots stopped the Buffalo Bills' streak of AFC East titles at six last year, then ran right through the AFC side of the playoff bracket to reach Super Bowl LX where they fell to the Seattle Seahawks. It's once again expected to be the Bills and Patriots at the top of the division, and if that sounds familiar it's only because they've won every AFC East crown dating back to 2009. What must the Bills do to finally ...