It's the holiday season and we're getting in the spirit on The Athletic Football Show. From the right offensive coach for Caleb Wiliams to a new team for Myles Garrett, Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen are giving gifts to players, teams and coaches across the NFL on this episode of TAFS. Rundown A want for more from the Cowboys for Jerry Jones A ball-winner for Lamar Jackson The right offensive coach for Caleb Williams The fountain of youth for Matthew Stafford Wolverine blood for the Lions Framed...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr 8 min
So which team had the best Week 16? It's not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Sure, it might look like the Vikings, who kept pace with the Lions atop the NFC. It might look like the Chiefs, who took an impressive step toward locking up the top seed in the AFC. It might look like the Commanders, who brought back the early season offense in their win over the Eagles. It could even be the Rams, who put themselves on the doorstep of clinching the NFC West. So, who is it? Well, Robert Mays a...
Dec 23, 2024•2 hr 41 min
Broncos-Chargers on Thursday. Steelers-Ravens and Texans-Chiefs on Saturday. Eagles-Commanders on Sunday. The playoff push is on, seeming every single day of the week. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen preview the jam-packed Week 16 slate on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Chargers-Broncos recap Steelers-Ravens preview Texans-Chiefs preview Eagles run defense vs. Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense Can Minnesota's offense keep it rolling in Seattle? What do we make of the ...
Dec 20, 2024•2 hr 47 min
Bill Belichick, head coach at the University of North Carolina. It's going to take some getting used to. Robert Mays starts that process from two different angles on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. First, he's joined by Seth Wickersham of ESPN to discuss why a move to the college game would be attractive to Belichick at this stage of his career. Then, David Ubben, host of The Athletic's Until Saturday podcast, jumps on with Robert to dig into the Belichick/UNC pairing from the colleg...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 20 min
From the heroics of Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown, to the breakouts from Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, and the letdowns from Bears and Texans passing games, the 2024 season gave us plenty to talk about at the wide receiver position. That's exactly what Robert Mays and Matt Harmon of Yahoo do on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Host: Robert Mays With: Matt Harmon Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football S...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 27 min
If the Week 15 game between the Bills and Lions proves to be a Super Bowl LIX preview, then we're all one for one helluva rematch in New Orleans in a couple months. In the meantime, the Bills scored one of the biggest wins of the season in taking down the Lions on the road. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 15 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the Texans defense, Jalen Hurts acing the litmus test, the Buccaneers offense, the Chiefs woeful...
Dec 16, 2024•2 hr 37 min
Hungry for more inside scoop on the NFL? We've got a great show in our network to share with you: Scoop City. Twice a week, The Athletic's senior NFL insider Dianna Russini and longtime quarterback NFL Chase Daniel share what they're hearing and seeing from their own unique perspectives. And their latest episode is just a taste of all you get from them in your feed. You'll hear them dishing with The Athletic's Bruce Feldman about what people inside the NFL and college football are saying about B...
Dec 14, 2024•59 min
Super Bowl LIX is eight weeks from Sunday. Would any of us be surprised if we're talking about the Bills and Lions in New Orleans? Of course not! And that's just one thing that makes their Week 15 matchup so much fun. Bills-Lions highlights a loaded week in which we also get Steelers-Eagles, Packers-Seahawks, Broncos-Colts (the biggest game on the slate in terms of the makeup of the playoff field), Buccaneers-Chargers and Dolphins-Texans. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen preview the week ahead on ...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 17 min
In another world, the Week 14 Monday night game between the Bengals and Cowboys could've been a Super Bowl preview. In our world, it was just another game between a couple of teams that won't make the playoffs. Where did this season go so wrong for the Bengals, Cowboys and three other teams—the 49ers, Jets and Dolphins—most of the football world believed could be contenders? And can they turn things around in short order? First, Robert Mays is joined by The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. to discuss ...
Dec 11, 2024•2 hr 38 min
The 2025 coaching carousel has been spinning since the Jets surprisingly fired Robert Saleh in October. Since then, the Bears and Saints have officially hopped on board, and we know at least three or four more are going to join them. Who else might be looking for a coach after the season? What should we expect from Bill Belichick, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn? Who might be the surprise candidates that emerge in January? Conor Orr from Sports Illustrated joins Robert Mays to break down the upcomin...
Dec 10, 2024•2 hr 51 min
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. Rundown Rams win thriller over Bills Seahawks remain atop NFC West Patrick Mahomes late-game mastery...You Have My...
Dec 09, 2024•2 hr 31 min
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...
Dec 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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 Li...
Dec 06, 2024•2 hr 40 min
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. Rundown Browns-Broncos recap What'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...
Dec 03, 2024•2 hr 42 min
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. Rundown Eagl...
Dec 02, 2024•2 hr 35 min
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. Rundown Chargers-Falcons preview Steelers-Bengals previ...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 12 min
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 C...
Nov 26, 2024•2 hr 47 min
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. Rundown Eagles dominate Rams Packers run game...You Have My Attention! Seahawks defense...You Have My Atten...
Nov 25, 2024•2 hr 40 min
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 t...
Nov 23, 2024•1 hr 1 min
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 pla...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 25 min
Look, not everyone can be a Super Bowl contender. Plenty of teams aren't even playoff contenders. More than half the league misses the playoffs, and many of those teams are bad. Some are very bad. But that doesn't mean they can't take something from the 2024 season. Robert Mays and Conor Orr from Sports Illustrated and the MMQB find silver linings for those bad teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Texans-Cowboys MNF recap Jets fire Joe Douglas Silver lining for the 2024 J...
Nov 19, 2024•2 hr 44 min
The Bills-Chiefs rivalry delivered yet again, with the Bills handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season. The Ravens-Steelers rivalry delivered, too, and now the Steelers find themselves in command of the AFC North. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into those games, plus the Broncos statement win over the Falcons, the befuddling 49ers—as well as the broader picture of the NFC West—Anthony Richardson's triumphant return, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. ...
Nov 18, 2024•2 hr 35 min
Justin Jefferson: Four years, $140 million. CeeDee Lamb: Four years, $136 million. Amon-Ra St. Brown: Four years, $120 million. A.J. Brown: Three years, $96 million. The market for wide receivers has exploded in recent years. But what about the players tasked with slowing them down...the cornerbacks? Their market has stagnated. Moreover, the position that defined cool in the era of Deion Sanders seems almost devoid of superstars in 2024. What happened to the star cornerback? Robert Mays explores...
Nov 16, 2024•1 hr
Chiefs-Bills week has become a hallmark of the Patrick Mahomes/Josh Allen era, and the 2024 edition is upon us. But hey, there's more! The first Ravens-Steelers game of the season is on Sunday, too. Seahawks-49ers, Falcons-Broncos and Bengals-Chargers, oh my! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into all that, and a whole lot more, on a jam-packed Week 11 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Commanders-Eagles recap Game of the Week: Chiefs at Bills Game of the Week: Ravens at Ste...
Nov 15, 2024•2 hr 37 min
The best time to hand out midseason awards is one week beyond the halfway point of the season. Everybody knows this. Bill Barnwell of ESPN joins Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen to do just that on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys discuss Lamar's possible third MVP, the potential of Mike Tomlin winning his first—yes, first—Coach of the Year Award, and a whole lot more. Rundown Dolphins-Rams recap Bears fire Shane Waldron Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year ...
Nov 12, 2024•2 hr 35 min
The Game of the Week lived up to the billing in Week 10, with the Steelers pulling out a 28-27 win over the Commanders. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 10 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also marvel at the Chiefs voodoo magic, highlight the Cardinals' rise, raise an eyebrow in the 49ers' direction, and discuss the rest of the developments that grabbed them on Sunday. Rundown Steelers remain atop AFC North with win over Commanders The Chiefs black ...
Nov 11, 2024•2 hr 38 min
If Bengals-Ravens is any indication of what we're going to get in the second half of the 2024 NFL season, we're in for quite the couple of months. Recapping that fireworks show is where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys then move on to our Week 10 Game of the Week, Steelers at Commanders. They also discuss the Falcons offense, the Eagles defense, sneaky worries over Sam Darnold, disappointment with the Texans, Christian McCaffrey's likel...
Nov 08, 2024•2 hr 39 min
The NFL trade deadline...no longer a snoozer! We had plenty of activity in the wide receiver market over the last few weeks, and the final day before the deadline brought us plenty of meaningful deals, highlighted by Za'Darius Smith to the Lions and Marshon Lattimore to the Commanders. Robert Mays and Mike Sando wrap up deadline day, plus recap recent news and look ahead to the second half of the season, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown The Chiefs seem awfully happy with De...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 15 min
We're halfway through the NFL season, and the best of the best are starting to separate. Two cases in point in Week 9...the Lions and Ravens. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into those results on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the Chargers latest win, concerns for the Bears, highlight reel plays from the Eagles, the Rams win over the Seahawks, and a whole lot more. Rundown Ravens dominate Broncos Lions handle Packers Los Angeles Chargers...You Have My Attent...
Nov 04, 2024•2 hr 35 min
Some Games of the Week sneak up on us. Others we can predict before the season even starts. Lions-Packers is one of the latter. We'll spend plenty of time between now and kickoff hoping Jordan Love is healthy enough to play and play well, but either way this is clearly the Game of the Week for Week 9. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen break that one down, dig into the Chargers defense, highlight the matchup between the Ravens offense and Broncos defense, and get into so much more about Week 9 on th...
Nov 01, 2024•2 hr 34 min
