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The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Is the era of quarterback-driven success in the NFL over?

Name your favorite unicorn quarterback. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, you name it. They're all done. Done! The era of a mystical quarterback leading your NFL team to a Super Bowl is over...maybe. The era of Seahawks-adjacent defensive domination is here...maybe. Robert Mays, Dave Helman, and Derrik Klassen are diving into why the NFL has felt so different lately, what the defining factors of this new (kind of) era are, and how long it will last.


0:00 Welcome to the show

2:58 Are we in a new era?

6:30 Well, what was the last era?

17:28 And why has the NFL felt so different recently?

28:24 What exactly has changed since the previous era?

41:12 And what do these changes mean for the future?

48:51 Okay, what are the answers?


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

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