Divisional Round losers postmortem: What's next for Bills, 49ers, Texans and Bears?

About this episode

<p>When you're one of the last eight teams playing football in a season, that final loss is hard to swallow. No matter how bright the future appears, there's no guarantee you get another shot quite like the one you just had. And yet, there's plenty of reason for optimism in 2026 and beyond for the Bills, 49ers, Texans and Bears after their respective Divisional Round losses. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen consider what the offseason ahead looks like for each of those teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.</p><br><p>Rundown (timestamps are approximate)</p><p>3:00 Buffalo Bills</p><p>33:57 San Francisco 49ers</p><p>43:49 Houston Texans</p><p>59:05 Chicago Bears</p><p>1:17:20 Jeff Hafley to the Dolphins</p><br><p>Connect with The Athletic Football Show</p><p>Please take our listener survey: <a href="theathletic.com/survey26" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">theathletic.com/survey26</a></p><p>YT:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow</a></p><p>Podcasts: <a href="https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/view</a></p><p>X:&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TA_FootballShow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://x.com/TA_FootballShow</a></p><p>IG:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow</a></p><p>TikTok:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow</a></p><p>Discord: <a href="http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow</a></p><p>Call us: 847-448-0701</p><p>Email us: <a href="https://open.acast.com/networks/67f9268d2308a71dab8db95a/shows/681cc905bdc60241406b737f/episodes/athleticfootballshow@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">athleticfootballshow@gmail.com</a></p><br><p>Host: Robert Mays</p><p>Co-Host: Derrik Klassen</p><p>Executive Producer: Michael Beller</p><p>Video Producer: Katy Duffy</p><p>Audio Producer: Michael Beller</p><p>Social Producer: Scott Krinch</p><br><p>Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social</p><p>Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social</p><p>Follow Robert on X: @robertmays</p><p>Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass</p><br><p>Theme song: Haunted</p><p>Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs</p><p>Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>