The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores on Sunday...and the Bills lost. On the other side of that game, the Rams vaulted themselves right back into the NFC West race. We're staring down a wild final month of the regular season, and it all got started in Week 14. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen recap the week on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.RundownRams win thriller over BillsSeahawks remain atop NFC WestPatrick Mahomes late-game mastery...You Have My Attention!Sam Darnold...You Have My Attention!The Buccaneers...You Have My Attention (grudgingly)Panthers take another brutal lossHow worried should we be about the Eagles passing game?The Giants' comical red zone numbersThe race for the top pick in the 2025 draft is onAaron Rodgers' first 300-yard performance in 35 games results in another Jets lossThe Dolphins sneaky retooling on offenseFiring Matt Eberflus didn't fix the BearsAnother Russell Wilson TD pass over the middle of the fieldThe Jaguars and Titans bring TNF to SundayWhat Did We Learn in Week 14?Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The quarterback position is the most important in all of sports, and it comes with the trappings that such a designation commands. Including, of course, money. All 32 teams in the NFL revolve around their quarterback in a way that is unique among professional sports. It's not just about how good of a quarterback he is. The amount and length of his contract is just as important. The way teams handle that can often help determine who is playing in the Super Bowl at the end of the season. And, like so many things in the league, that approach is ever-evolving. Brad Spielberger of Grand Central Sports Management joins Robert Mays to break down the evolution of quarterback contracts on this episode of The Money Down, a four-part miniseries on the business of the NFL presented by The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysWith: Brad SpielbergerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Chris FlannerySubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Brad on X: @SpielbergerBradTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know what the best part of Week 14 is? No, not learning if the Chiefs can keep getting away with this in their showdown with the Chargers. No, not the huge NFC West matchup between the Seahawks and Cardinals. It's not even that awesome Lions-Packers game we all watched on Thursday. Week 14 is the final week with byes. After Week 14, every team will have played 13 games, and we'll finally be back to standings equilibrium. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen preview the week ahead, and recap the Lions' thrilling Thursday night win over the Packers, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.RundownLions win thriller over PackersGame of the Week: Chargers at ChiefsGame of the Week: Seahawks at CardinalsRams run game vs. Bills defenseBryce Young vs. Eagles defenseIs Falcons-Vikings a revenge game for Kirk Cousins?Who's better positioned for the next three seasons...Bengals or Cowboys?What Do You Wanna Know from Week 14?Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we head into the final month of the 2024 regular season, we know who the true Super Bowl contenders are. What's just as clear, however, are their flaws. Robert Mays and Fran Duffy from PHLY of the ALLCITY Network dig into those flaws on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.RundownBrowns-Broncos recapWhat's keeping the Steelers up at night?What's keeping the Vikings up at night?What's keeping the Packers up at night?What's keeping the Ravens up at night?What's keeping the Bills up at night?What's keeping the Chiefs up at night?What's keeping the Eagles up at night?What's keeping the Lions up at night?Another way the run game is backAn argument for quarterbacks should exhaust their college eligibilityWhat the rest of this season means for the 49ersHost: Robert MaysWith: Fran DuffyExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Fran on Bluesky: @fduffy.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Fran on X: @FDuffyNFLTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Eagles' win over the Ravens in Week 13 wasn't just the team's best on its current eight-game winning streak. It was quite possibly the best win of the season for any team. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 13 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the Steelers winning a game in which they needed to score more than 38 points, Kirk Cousins' terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, the crazy NFC West race, and a whole lot more.RundownEagles make statement with win over RavensThe NFC West race...You Have My AttentionSeahawks knock off JetsVikings sneak past CardinalsWho will win the NFC West?Pittsburgh Steelers, the likely AFC North Champs...You Have My Attention!Kirk Cousins...WTF?!?Buccaneers narrowly avoid WTF statusOK, Bryce YoungWashington's offense isn't dead yetThe Texans find a way to let us down, even when they winA 19-play, game-winning drive from the Colts?!?What Did We Learn Today?Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the first third of the season is about deciphering fact from fiction, and the middle third is about learning who teams really are, the final third is about the playoff push. The final third of the season begins in Week 13, and we've got five great games that are going to help us determine what the early stages of that playoff push look like. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen preview those games on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.RundownChargers-Falcons previewSteelers-Bengals previewCardinals-Vikings previewEagles-Ravens preview49ers-Bills previewHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.RundownRavens-Chargers MNF recapEmerging polarization in the 2025 NFL Draft classDane's initial flag plantingThe 2025 quarterbacks, headlined by Shedeur Sanders and Cam WardIntriguing pairings in the top 10Drake Maye is a dudeShould the Jets have taken Brock Bowers?Should the Falcons have taken Jared Verse?Why the Bo Nix/Broncos pairing is workingHost: Robert MaysWith: Daniel Popper and Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Daniel on X: @danielrpopperFollow Dane on X: @dpbruglerTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.RundownEagles dominate RamsPackers 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 ChiefsJonnu Smith is the Dolphins' top pass-catcher now?Baker Mayfield has found his place...and we're all better off for itAnthony Richardson has three types of gamesCaleb Williams' best performance of the seasonWhat Did We Learn Today?Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 MaysWith: Andrew MarchandExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Chris FlannerySubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Andrew on X: @AndrewMarchandTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.RundownGame of the Week: Ravens at ChargersGame of the Week: 49ers at PackersOne Thing From...Eagles at RamsOne Thing From...Cardinals at SeahawksAre the Colts really still alive in the playoff hunt?Have we reached the Kliff Cliff?Wins Pool Update...it's not going well for RobertCaleb Williams and the Bears vs. Robert Flores and the VikingsThe Buccaneers' path to the NFC South titleHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.