The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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.
Rundown (times...
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 ...
Ah yes, the familiar hallmarks of mid-November. Leaves falling off trees, Thanksgiving preparations being made, and Dane Brugler's updated Top 50. Dane and Dave Helman dig into the new Top 50 on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. The guys discuss Arell Reese and Ty Simpson up top, the biggest risers and fallers, the unique challenges of the 2026 class, and a whole lot more.
Rundown (timestamps are a...
Brian Daboll appeared to be on thin ice dating back to the end of last season. The ice finally broke on Monday, with the Giants making a change at head coach. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 10 Hangover episode of The Athletic Football Show by discussing the end of the Daboll era in New York. After that, the guys dig into the Ravens' win over the Vikings and the Chargers' victory over the Steelers, which tightened thi...
The late window in Week 10 may have been nothing but blowouts, but it did lay bare for us one clear and obvious truth: the Rams and Seahawks are two of the best teams in the league. That's where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman begin the Week 10 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also give plenty of love to the Patriots, Dan Campbell as playcaller, and Jonathan Taylor; wonder what went wrong with the B...
The second half of the NFL season kicks off with a bang, with four games pitting current playoff teams against one another. Two of those games—Eagles at Packers and Rams at 49ers—are the Games of the Week on the Week 10 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. After diving deep into those games, Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman discuss the other two—Patriots at Buccaneers and Steelers at Chargers. The guys also dig...
It's a familiar refrain in sports media. "You can't tell the story of SPORTS TOPIC without talking about FAMOUS PLAYER/COACH." Well, who are the players and coaches without whom the story of the 2025 season would be incomplete? Old friend Nate Tice joins Robert Mays to highlight those players and coaches on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.
Rundown (timestamps are approximate)
3:45 Reggie Gilliam, Jackson Hawes, and the...
After a week away, Dane Brugler is back on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. He and Dave Helman hand out some game balls from Week 10—hello, Arvell Reese—and then turn their attention to under-the-radar prospects making their statements as the season approaches the stretch run.
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Thank you, New York Jets, for making the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline one of the most active on record. First, the Jets swung a blockbuster deal with the Colts for Sauce Gardner. Then, the Jets sent out another supposed pillar of their defense, trading Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys. And it's not like those were the only deals made, either. Jaelen Phillips, Jakobi Meyers and Rashid Shaheed all have new homes, too. Robert Mays, Dave Hel...
We might not have thought of the Seahawks as Super Bowl contenders before the season began. We definitely do now. They showed us why yet again in their dismantling of the Commanders on Sunday Night Football in Week 9. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive into that performance on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the Jaguars' 30-29 win over the Raiders, and the Eagles and Dolphins getting trade deadlin...
Now that's more like it. After a blowout-filled Week 8, the NFL got back to its down-to-the-wire ways in Week 9. Of course, Bills over Chiefs goes down as the big story of the day, and that's where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman begin the Week 9 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss eye-opening wins for the Steelers and Vikings, a fireworks show between the Bears and Bengals, a puzzling los...
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