The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
@theathleticfootballshowashowaboutthenfl · Podcast
Latest segments
- Panthers-Packers Thursday night, 2026-10-30
Debates Young's pocket versus his own limits
Debates how much of Bryce Young's rough night was the collapsing pocket versus his own limits, landing on both: the protection was awful, but he lacks the size and arm to bail it out. Stays inside the game already on the record. - Panthers-Packers Thursday night, 2026-10-30
Breaks down Carolina's reshuffled protection
Breaks down Carolina's protection in the loss: Monroe Freeling back at left tackle for the injured Moten, Jake Curran at left guard with Damian Lewis out, and Green Bay's hands-up, heavy-blitz plan built around a line that cannot hold. Notes the Panthers were top 10 to 12 in offensive DVOA before this game. - Panthers-Packers Thursday night, 2026-10-30
Assesses Green Bay's backups without Parsons
Assesses Green Bay's defense in the Panthers win and argues the backups held up without Micah Parsons, naming Brenton Cox, Evan Williams, Chris McClellan, Dennis Sutton and Tyron Hopper, whose tipped-ball interception and run stops get the most attention. - Panthers-Packers Thursday night, 2026-10-30
Picks out Watson's hospital visit and return
Picks out the strangest detail of the Packers win: Christian Watson left for a hospital visit, re-entered, and finished with eight catches for 113 yards, drawing a deep contested ball on his first play back. - Panthers-Packers Thursday night, 2026-10-30
Recaps the 27-19 win and Love's pick
Opens the postgame recap of Green Bay's 27-19 Thursday night win, ranking it among the season's weaker Thursday games. Notes the Packers built a big lead, eased off, and let Carolina threaten late after a Jordan Love end zone interception. - Bears trade for Jeffrey Simmons, 2026-10-29
Rewatches Williams' growth to justify the swing
Rewatches the Bears' previous game and argues Williams has improved his ball placement, rhythm, timing and pocket sense while keeping elite escapability and arm strength, which makes an aggressive move like the Simmons trade easier to justify. Reaction and framing, not a new development. - Bears trade for Jeffrey Simmons, 2026-10-29
Debates the price against the Colts' precedent
Calls the Simmons trade an overpay in a vacuum but a defensible one, arguing the Bears have more evidence of readiness than the Colts did when they traded for Daniel Jones. Stays inside the price-and-window argument already on the record. - Bears trade for Jeffrey Simmons, 2026-10-29
Explains the two-year window while Williams is cheap
Explains the timing of the Simmons trade: a soft-looking NFC and a roster whose premium positions are already filled by young, cheap players, with Williams cheap for at least three more years. Frames it as a two-year window rather than a one-season push. - Bears trade for Jeffrey Simmons, 2026-10-29
Argues tackle was the splash spot, not edge
Argues defensive tackle, not edge, was Chicago's splash spot, and frames Simmons as a top-10 defensive player and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Compares the price to the Dexter Lawrence and Quinnen Williams deals and notes he turns 30 next summer. Analysis and context, not a new development. - Bears trade for Jeffrey Simmons, 2026-10-29
Frames the deal as another Poles swing
Opens the emergency episode with birthday banter and a quick framing of the Simmons deal as a massive, unsurprising swing for a Bears team with Ryan Poles' history of aggressive trades. Sets up the discussion without adding anything to the record. - Chargers fall to 0-6, 2026-10-29
Reports the Chargers have no interest in selling
Turns to the 0-6 Chargers as sellers, working Popper's board: Tuipulotu fifth, James tenth, Mack twelfth. Reports the building has no interest in trading anyone, and argues the expiring veterans - Tomlinson, Jackson, Mack - are the middle ground, with Mack the most attractive piece. - Jonathan Taylor trade talk, 2026-10-29
Runs through landing spots for Taylor
Runs through landing spots for a Jonathan Taylor trade, naming Minnesota and Cincinnati as the most plausible and ruling out Seattle after the Nelson deal. Frames the Giants as a multi-year fit rather than a 2026 finishing piece, and argues deadline buying rarely works for teams like New York and Cleveland. - Colts fire Chris Ballard, 2026-10-29
Presses the contradiction in firing Ballard
Weighs the Colts' fire sale and names Josh Downs and Grover Stewart alongside Jonathan Taylor as trade candidates, then presses the contradiction of firing Ballard while keeping Steichen to evaluate a stripped roster. Adds contract detail on Taylor and Stewart. - Seahawks trade for Quenton Nelson, 2026-10-29
Walks through the Buckner trade from the 49ers' side
Walks through the Buckner trade from the 49ers' side: the 8.8 percent pressure rate against Penix, three pressures all game, Collins and West on IR, Bosa out five games. Frames it as a no-brainer for San Francisco and a lukewarm return for Indianapolis, all inside the trade already on the record. - Seahawks trade for Quenton Nelson, 2026-10-29
Breaks down the Nelson trade from Seattle's side
Breaks down the Nelson trade from Seattle's side: the run game ranks 31st in EPA per designed rush, Zabel slides to right guard, and the extra third from the Nolan Teasley hire plus four comp picks let Seattle absorb the cost without losing standard draft capital. - Texas beats Ole Miss, 2026-10-28
Adds scouts' second-round grades on Goosby
Draft-focused review of the Texas win: scouts had more second-round grades than first-round grades on Goosby before the knee injury, and Chambliss's three-interception night was his first multi-pick game since the 2024 opener at Ferris State. - Dante Moore out for season, 2026-10-28
Recaps the shutdown and weighs draft stock
Recaps the Moore shutdown and works through what it means for his draft stock and a polarizing 2027 quarterback class. Stays inside the week's coverage, adding evaluation detail and class context rather than a new development. - Broncos beat Cardinals 30-16, 2026-10-27
Breaks down the swings and the defensive depth
Walks through the three explosive swings in Denver's win - the Nix scramble, the blocked punt and the Harvey screen - and then goes deep on the defensive front, noting the Broncos have stayed top five in defensive DVOA for three straight seasons and that the depth behind the starters is the unit's real edge. - Broncos beat Cardinals 30-16, 2026-10-27
Breaks down Nix's downfield day from empty
Breaks down Nix's downfield day against Arizona: four completions of 10-plus air yards, three of them from empty formations, and a 47-yard Mims deep shot against cover two. Frames it as a first step, then spends the back half on air-yards and checkdown discourse. - Rams beat Raiders 35-21, 2026-10-27
Breaks down the Rams' seven-defensive-back looks
Breaks down how the Rams schemed the Raiders: seven defensive backs on 19 snaps, more than any other team in a game this season, and dime on first down against 12 personnel. Also works through Las Vegas's interior line and receiver deficiencies and Ashton Jeanty's health.