The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

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 and Derrik Klassen might not answer that question on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. But they will recap Week 16.

Rundown

• Commanders take down an Eagles team clearly missing Jalen Hurts
• The Vikings chances at the 1-seed...You Have My Attention!
• The Ravens run game...You Have My Attention!
• The potential of the Chiefs offense...You Have My Attention!
• Arizona Cardinals...WTF?!?
• The top of the draft order...WTF?!?
• Michael Penix brings some juice to Atlanta's offense
• A strange win, but a win nonetheless, for the Rams over the Jets
• Joe Burrow keeps on making plays on the move
• Jonathan Taylor's big day and the Colts unlikely feat
• The AFC Wild Card picture
• Drake Maye's zone/man splits
• The latest in Lions trickery
• What Did We Learn Today?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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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

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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 staffs in Indianapolis and Tennessee?
• Big offseason ahead for Tua Tagovailoa and Brock Purdy
• Micah Parsons vs. the Buccaneers offensive line
• It's Michael Penix Time

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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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.

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 college football perspective.

Host: Robert Mays

With: Seth Wickersham and David Ubben

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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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.

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

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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.

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 pass protection, the Bengals-Titans slopfest, and a whole lot more.

Rundown

• Bills-Lions recap
• Texans defense...You Have My Attention!
• Jalen Hurts...You Have My Attention!
• Buccaneers offense...You Have My Attention!
• Bengals-Titans...WTF?!?
• Chiefs pass protection...WTF?!?
• Washington Commanders...WTF?!?
• Indianapolis Colts...WTF?!?
• Lamar Jackson making sure that Josh Allen doesn't run away with the MVP
• The Seahawks offense cannot function without Geno Smith
• Who's going to win the NFC West, Week 15 edition
• Brian Thomas is really good
• Davante Adams isn't done yet

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

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 Bill Belichick taking the head coaching job at UNC.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

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

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 this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Bills-Lions preview
• Colts-Broncos is a huge game
• Steelers-Eagles is a litmus test for both offenses
• What to watch in Packers-Seahawks
• Buccaneers offense vs. Chargers defense
• What do the Texans look like coming out of their bye?
• Chiefs-Browns...is this the game the Chiefs drop?
• Sam Darnold's future in Minnesota

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

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 the Bengals, then Derrik Klassen hops on to tackle the other four teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Cincinnati Bengals
• Dallas Cowboys
• San Francisco 49ers
• New York Jets
• Miami Dolphins

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Paul Dehner Jr.

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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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.

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 upcoming coaching cycle on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Then, The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue and Alec Lewis discuss with Robert a recent success on the coaching carousel: Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.

Rundown

• Head coach openings
• Potential surprise openings
• Good job or bad job?
• Bill Belichick
• Ben Johnson
• Aaron Glenn
• Brian Flores
• Mike Vrabel
• Liam Coen
• Todd Monken
• Joe Brady
• Off-the-beaten path candidates
• First-time coordinator candidates
• The rise of Kevin O'Connell

Host: Robert Mays

With: Conor Orr, Jourdan Rodrigue and Alec Lewis

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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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.

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 Attention!
• Sam Darnold...You Have My Attention!
• The Buccaneers...You Have My Attention (grudgingly)
• Panthers take another brutal loss
• How worried should we be about the Eagles passing game?
• The Giants' comical red zone numbers
• The race for the top pick in the 2025 draft is on
• Aaron Rodgers' first 300-yard performance in 35 games results in another Jets loss
• The Dolphins sneaky retooling on offense
• Firing Matt Eberflus didn't fix the Bears
• Another Russell Wilson TD pass over the middle of the field
• The Jaguars and Titans bring TNF to Sunday
• What Did We Learn in Week 14?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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YouTube

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.