The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The Vikings, Commanders, Titans and Browns have dealt with varying degrees of disappointment this season, but they remain worthy of our attention as we get ready to close the book on them for 2025. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive into the Vikings' 31-0 win over the Commanders, and the Titans' surprisingly fun 31-29 win over the Browns, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Then, the guys get into a particularly illustr...

If you caught the Week 14 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show, you know we were excited about this Sunday. Bears-Packers, Colts-Jaguars, Texans-Chiefs, Steelers-Ravens and Bengals-Bills. Welp, the day lived up to the expectations, and the some. Robert Mays, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen dive deep into an awesome day of football—and consider its implications—on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (times...

It’s a ton of fun anytime you get a game with first place on the line this late in the season. This week, we have three such games. And one of them is Bears-Packers. So yeah, Week 14 just might be the best week of the season. Robert Mays, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen preview everything we’ve got to come this week on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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Chiefs, Ravens, Eagles and Lions; Chiefs, Ravens, Eagles and Lions. Look back over the last half-decade of the NFL, and you'll see those four teams at the top of the league, year in and year out. They're all such constants, in fact, that it seems we just chisel their names in stone into the playoff picture in August. But this year, the Eagles are sputtering their way into December, and the Chiefs, Ravens and Lions all could easily ...

It's December. The college football regular season is over. It's Mock Draft Season. Dane Brugler's end-of-season mock draft is now live at The Athletic, and he and Dave Helman dig into it on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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It doesn't always have to be pretty, especially when you're stacking wins. The Broncos and Buccaneers can tell themselves that after picking up victories over the Commanders and Cardinals, respectively, in Week 13. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into both of those games on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Then, they do some necessary due diligence and check in on the Saints and Dolphins. Finally, the guys wrap up the...

December has arrived, and there isn't much more separation among teams at the top of their divisions as there was back when everyone was 0-0. Three divisions—the NFC West, AFC South and AFC North—are tied. Two more—the NFC North and NFC South—have a half-game separating the top-two teams. The Cowboys now trail the Eagles by just 1.5 games in the NFC East. We're going to enjoy one helluva run to the playoffs over the next month. Rob...

With Thanksgiving Day now behind us, it's time to get to the rest of the Week 13 slate. Believe it or not, the AFC South is still very much up for grabs, and the Texans have an opportunity for a huge win when they visit the Colts on Sunday. The Bills and Steelers, meanwhile, are both coming off a loss and meet in a game that feels like neither can afford to lose. The 49ers, Jaguars, Buccaneers and Chargers are all comfortable favor...

If you've been a football fan for any meaningful amount of time, you know that great games on the Thanksgiving Day slate isn't a guarantee. That's what makes a Thanksgiving like this one so delightfully juicy. Packers-Lions! Chiefs-Cowboys! Bengals-Ravens, with Joe Burrow back! And then, to top it all off, Bears-Eagles on Black Friday. That's just about as good a set of games as you could hope for to kick off Thanksgiving weekend. ...

Rivalry Week always has, and always will, mean so many things in the college football world. One of the newer elements of Rivalry Week, though, is that it's often the last time any NFL Draft prospects whose teams don't make the College Football Playoff will put something new on tape for pro teams to consider. It's on those players that Dane Brugler and Dave Helman focus their attention on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Every contender needs to win a game or two on the road when they aren't necessarily at their best. That goes doubly so for surprise contenders like, say, the Seahawks and Patriots. That's exactly what they both did in wins over the Titans and Bengals, respectively. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive into those games on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Included: plenty of love for Cam Ward and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. After t...

We're through two-thirds of the NFL regular season. Thanksgiving Week is here. The beginning of the home stretch has arrived. And yet, do we even have a definitive Super Bowl favorite? Perhaps it's the Los Angeles Rams, who crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. But this thing is wide open and that was on full display leading up to that SNF game. The Dallas Cowboys rallied from a 21-0 hold to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-...

If we told you back in August that Colts-Chiefs would be the Game of the Week in Week 12, you probably would've nodded along. "Sure," you'd say to yourself, "I can see that. The Chiefs are doing their thing as a Super Bowl favorite, and the Colts are a surprise upstart on the fringes of the playoff picture. That adds up." Instead, it's the Colts who are leading their division, and the Chiefs who are desperate for a win to stay with...

Ten teams started the season with a seat at The Lombardi Table, a place where only the teams we deem legitimate Super Bowl contenders can sit. Ten teams remain, although the composition has changed. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman take away two seats and cut the membership down to eight on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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There are still seven weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, but the likely composition of the top 10 in the draft order is starting to take shape. So, if you're a fan of the Titans or the Browns or the Jets, who inside the college football world should be getting you excited for 2026? Dane Brugler and Dave Helman do some team + position/player matchmaking for the worst teams in the NFL and the top prospects in the draft pool o...

The Bears and Steelers are in first place after Week 11? Sure, yup, just how we all drew it up back in August. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into the Bears' win over the Vikings and the Steelers' win over the Bengals on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also hit on the Texans, who won another game with Davis Mills at the helm, and take a couple of sad voicemails from fans of AFC West teams.

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We spent all last week getting pumped about the Week 11 slate. And then it delivered the goods. The Kansas City Chiefs nine-year reign atop the AFC West is in serious jeopardy after their loss to the Denver Broncos. The Los Angeles Rams grabbed a hold of the NFC West steering wheel with their win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Philadelphia Eagles took down the Detroit Lions in a clash of NFC heavyweights. Josh Allen had a monster d...

There are certain weeks where we don't need to get cute with these descriptions. The Rams and Seahawks play on Sunday in a game that could determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Lions and Eagles play on Sunday in a game that also could determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Broncos and Chiefs play on Sunday in a game that could determine the AFC West Champion. In other words, Week 11 is jam-packed with great games. Robert Mays,...

Doing your midseason awards at the exact midpoint of the season might be cool, but you know what's even cooler? Doing them 55.6% of the way through the season. And that's exactly what Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman do at the midway point, plus one week. Who's the Offensive Player of the Year, Jonathan Taylor or Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Can anyone challenge Myles Garrett for the Defensive Player of the Year crown? And who's ...