The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

We're just more than a week out from the trade deadline, and we've already seen a number of impact deals. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dream up a few more that we could realistically see on this Week 8 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss Bills-Seahawks, the Bears defense, Eagles-Bengals and a whole lot more. Rundown Vikings-Rams recap Bills-Seahawks preview DeAnd...

Back in August, 50 NFL coaches and executives told The Athletic's Mike Sando that Lamar Jackson is not a tier-one quarterback. Welp, so much for that. Lamar isn't the only QB playing outside his assigned tier this season. On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Sando sits in for Robert Mays and discusses with Derrik Klassen four other quarterbacks who aren't lining up with where those coach...

The Chiefs are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL as Week 7 comes to an end. They stayed that way by stifling the 49ers in a 28-18 win. The league's other undefeated team at the start of Week 7, the Vikings, suffered their first loss at the hands of the Lions, who also moved into first place in the NFC North. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discuss those two games, plus Saquon's revenge, disappointm...

On paper, Week 7 is the best week of the 2024 season to date. It's highlighted by the Super Bowl rematch, that doesn't quite feel like a Super Bowl rematch, between the Chiefs and 49ers, and it doesn't stop there. Vikings-Lions, Texans-Packers and Ravens-Buccaneers would all be worthy Game of the Week choices, as well. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into all those games on this episode of The...

Never a dull moment for the New York Jets, huh? The Athletic's Jets beat reporter Zack Rosenblatt joins Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show to break down the tumultuous week in Jets land. Then, David Helman from Fox Sports hops on with Robert to separate all 32 teams into six tiers, from Super Bowl or Bust (think Chiefs, Ravens, Lions) to Mock Draft Enthusiasts (think Panther...

Ravens-Commanders was the best game on paper in Week 6, and it absolutely lived up to the billing. And hey, that 0-2 start to the season for the Ravens feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off the Week 6 recap on The Athletic Football Show with an in-depth look at the Ravens' win over the Commanders. The guys also talk about the disaster in Dallas, the ascenda...

Some Games of the Week are easy to see coming. Other Games of the Week are Commanders-Ravens. And yet, that's not only the highlight of the Week 6 schedule, but one of the best games to date this season. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen go deep on the Battle of the B-W Parkway on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also dig into Lions-Cowboys, the Broncos and Packers offenses, the 4...

We're used to big news dropping on Tuesdays, but this one was entirely different. The Robert Saleh firing—especially the timing of it—surprised the NFL world, and that's where Robert Mays and Diante Lee of The Ringer begin this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also recap the Chiefs' win over the Saints on Monday Night Football, dig into the Seahawks' run defense and the deterioratin...

Ravens 41, Bengals 38 in overtime. Texans 23, Bills 20. The Jaguars and Colts combining for 41 points in the fourth quarter. And that was all in the early window on Sunday. Yeah, Week 5 was the craziest week to date of this NFL season. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen break it all down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Ravens beat Bengals in OT thriller You Have My Attention: Te...

Four weeks into the season, the 49ers' offense has been predictably great...but in unpredictable fashion. Four weeks into the season, the Steelers' offense has been unpredictably effective. Ravens-Bengals and Bills-Texans as the Week 5 Games of the Week? Well, yeah, not everything can be unpredictable. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen preview Week 5 across the NFL on this episode of The Athletic Foo...

Dane Brugler makes his triumphant return to The Athletic Football Show to start laying groundwork for the 2025 NFL Draft. He and Robert Mays take a big-picture look at the class, and dig deeper into prospects who have caught Dane's eye, including Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty. The guys start the show by recapping Seahawks-Lions and Titans-Dolphins, and wrap it up by discussing Malik Nabers, the...

Ravens-Bills wasn't quite the close contest we were hoping for, but it still gave us plenty to discuss about two teams that are likely among the best in the league. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen begin the Week 4 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the surging Washington football team, the 4-0 Vikings, troubles for the Jets and Eagles, a silly little gam...

Vikings-Packers, Bills-Ravens and Seahawks-Lions highlight the 16-game Week 4 slate and, helpfully, they're all in different game windows. Now that's how you schedule helpfully for the football fan, NFL. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into those three games, plus Jayden Daniels, the Broncos front, Todd Bowles as Jalen Hurts' kryptonite, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Foot...

Look, NFL, you can give us as many two-game Monday nights as you want, so long as we get to watch quarterback performances like we saw from Jayden Daniels, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow in Week 3. Mitch Schwartz joins Robert Mays to break down Commanders-Bengals and Jaguars-Bills on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also add their answers to the question about leaguewide offensive s...

Four teams are 3-0 as we head into the final week of September. One is the Chiefs. The other three are the Vikings, Steelers and Seahawks. It's safe to say chaos remains the only constant in the NFL. Well, chaos and the Chiefs. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen wrap up a wild Week 3 on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Chaos reigns supreme More likely to win their division...Steeler...

As recently as two weeks ago, we might not have thought that Texans-Vikings and Lions-Cardinals would be the games we'd most be looking forward to in Week 3. Therein lies much of the beauty of the NFL. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig deep into those matchups on the Week 3 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss who's more desperate for a win in the Ravens-Cowboys ga...

There is a permanent statistical revolution going on in the NFL, and there is no end in sight. Amazon Thursday Night Football's analytics expert Sam Schwartzstein joins Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show to detail what you're seeing on the Prime TNF broadcasts, and why you're seeing what you're seeing. After that, noted Panthers fan Steven Ruiz from The Ringer joins Robert t...

The Chiefs and Bengals gave us another classic, this one with the Chiefs escaping with a 26-25 win. The Saints offense went off for the second week in a row. The Buccaneers went into Detroit and beat the Lions. The Vikings upset the 49ers, while the Raiders tripped up the Ravens. Yup, it was a crazy Week 2. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen wrap it all up on this episode of The Athletic Football Show...

Week 2 is one of the best weeks of the year because we get our first opportunity to learn how much of what we saw in Week 1 was real. For instance, the Buccaneers offense was electric last week. That, however, was against a Washington defense that could be the worst in the league. How will the Bucs fare against the Lions on Sunday. That's one of our Games of the Week, along with Bengals-Chiefs. Sp...

Week 1 often leaves us asking this simple question...is this real? Bengals panic after the loss to the Patriots...is this real? The Saints and Buccaneers offenses under new playcallers? Really good! The Falcons offense under a new playcaller? Pretty bad! Is this real? Robert Mays and Mike Sando dig into those situations, and more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Plus, the guys also...

Week 1 represents 100% of the regular season football we've seen this season, so it's only natural to overreact. Not every reaction is an overreaction, though. For instance, it's not an overreaction to say that Dak Prescott had a great day...or that Josh Allen is a football superhero...or that the Bengals and Falcons were massive letdowns. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discuss all that, and a who...

We did it. We made it. The 2024 NFL regular season is here. In fact, one game is already in the books. We kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show with a recap of the Chiefs' thrilling 27-20 win over the Ravens, featuring Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Mike Sando. Then, Robert and Derrik preview the rest of the games by highlighting five things they're excited about watching in Week 1,...

The 2024 NFL season is on our doorstep. There's just one item of business left...predictions! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen offer up their playoff picks, award winners and Super Bowl Champions—along with some favorite bets—on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Defensive Player of the Year Offensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year Assistant Coach of the Year Offensive Rookie...

We've come to the end of the division preview line for the 2024 NFL season, and we arrive here with a bang. The NFC West is on the shortlist for most exciting division in the league, one that includes the defending conference champion and a Super Bowl favorite. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive into the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Sa...

So this division got pretty fun pretty fast, huh? The Texans look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Jaguars have their guy at quarterback, and the Colts just might, too. The Titans, meanwhile, are getting a lot of, "they may not be great, but they sure look frisky" love this offseason. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive deep into the AFC South on this episode of The Athletic Football sh...