The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

We've spent most of our time this season with the loaded quarterback class focused on Arch Manning or Dante Moore or Drew Mestemaker. Three quarterbacks does not a loaded class make, though, so Dane Brugler and Dave Helman turn their attention to Missouri's Austin Simmons and Notre Dame's C.J. Carr on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. The guys also discuss edge rushers grabbing their attention and the biggest games of Week 6, and introduce The Green Room.

Accompanied reading: Dane’s early All-Rookie team https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7663423/2026/10/06/nfl-all-rookie-jeremiyah-love-arvell-reese/

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Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Through four weeks, Bryce Young leads the NFL in passing yards and ranks seventh in EPA/dropback, sandwiched between Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes. Of course he does. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off the Week 4 Hangover by digging deep into the Carolina Panthers' 32-26 win over the Detroit Lions. After that, the guys move onto the Los Angeles Chargers' latest debacle, a 30-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that was nowhere near as close as that score suggests, and the New York Giants' rise to the top of the NFC East after a 36-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A strong outing from Michael Penix, a suffocating run game from Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr, and a Jeff Ulbrich classic. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the Week 4 Atlanta Falcons MNF win over the New Orleans Saints.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/VJV7zyDw

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we wrap up the first month of the NFL season, we still have three undefeated teams across the league, and none of them would've been among the most likely candidates if we turned back the clock to August. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman the Week 4 recap of The Athletic Football Show by discussing two of those teams...the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. The guys also dig into CeeDee Lamb's huge day, the Jacksonville Jaguars' gritty win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Los Angeles Rams' comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, and a whole lot more.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broncos-49ers is one of our Games of the Week for Week 4. Which, sure, duh, that was easy to see coming before the season began. The other one, and the one getting top billing, is Chiefs-Raiders. That's right, the Raiders are playing in one of our Games of the Week, and it's not a bit or anything like that. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig deep on those two games, offer up One Thing From Jaguars-Bengals, Rams-Eagles and Cowboys-Texans, take a walk down Sicko Street with a couple of offenses that could be in hell on Sunday, and discuss Mike Tomlin's Minecraft masterpiece on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A back-and-forth night in Cleveland ended up in an unlikely spot...with the home team sitting at 3-1 on the first night of October. The Cleveland Browns knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-24, to begin Week 4. Robert Mays and Dave Helman break it down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Accompanied reading: Sando's 2026 quarterback tiers https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/nfl-quarterback-tiers-insider-rankings-2026/

Trevor Lawrence was the most baleyhooed quarterback coming out of college since Andrew Luck, seemingly a true can't-miss prospect. Until he missed. And then in year five of his career, when he seemingly was going to go down as a player who never lived up to the hype, he put it all together and finished fifth in MVP voting. Early on this season, he has picked up right where he left off. What can we as a football-loving people take from Lawrence's path to where he is now? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive into that question on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An absolutely jam-packed Week 3 Sunday recap means we're back to our Hangover roots. Vikings over Bucs in a game where neither offense reached a 25% success rate? Hell yeah! The Browns improving to 2-1 with a 21-18 win over the Panthers? Hell yeah! Titans-Giants in a game where the two teams combined for 19 points? Hell! Yeah! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into those three games on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Caleb Williams, no problem. At least for one week. The Chicago Bears turned to third-string quarterback Case Keenum and he helped deliver them a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen break down the game on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got 15 more regular season weeks ahead of us, but it wouldn't be a surprise if we just saw what goes down as the best one in Week 3. We had 12 one-score games (two of those were eight-point differences, but still), five of which were decided by three or fewer points. As for storylines, well, the Raiders are 3-0. The Broncos erased a 16-point deficit to beat the Rams. The Ravens won a thriller over the Cowboys in Brazil. The Jaguars absolutely boatraced the Patriots. And the Commanders and Steelers upset the Seahawks and Bengals, respectively. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap Week 3 on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bCyPFKAS

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Senior Producer: Katy Duffy

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.