A new Netflix series titled “Quarterback” was highly anticipated by fans of the NFL, and finally came out with its first season after the 2022 season on July 12th, 2023.
The new series highlights and follows the lives of three NFL quarterbacks including Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons. The series has eight informational episodes about the 2022 season and is expected to make another season of the series after the 2023 NFL season with three new quarterbacks.
The series not only goes into depth with how the quarterbacks prepare and play in games, but also reaches deeper into their personal day-to-day lives and what they do outside of football during the season. It shows the intense work and dedication it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback, and the preparation to play week in and week out.
In the opening episode of the series, starts with Minnesota’s quarterback Kirk Cousins explaining to his son why there are so many rules protecting the quarterbacks of each team. It then shows some of the accomplishments of the quarterbacks, including the celebration of Mahomes winning his Superbowl 54 in 2020 and how well he played during that season. Cousins then shows what teams do with quarterbacks before the season starts in training camps, and what goes into getting the team ready for the regular season. Mariota then shows what his offseason looked like and how hard it was balancing getting adapted to a new team, as well as him and his wife expecting their first child. The ending of the episode dives deeper into what the mentality of each quarterback is.
In the second episode, Mahomes shows what his workouts are like with his personal trainer to get into the shape that he needs to be in to move like he does on the field. Cousins then shows off his memorabilia room which has different items that have meaning to Cousins that he has obtained over his 11-year career and some things that he has kept from his earlier years. His memorabilia room includes pieces such as all of his game balls he has attained, signatures he has gotten, and even some of his uniforms. This episode also looks back into the start of Cousins’s career for the Washington Redskins, being behind Robert Griffin III and him taking advantage of his opportunities. They also show what went into Cousins’s famous “YOU LIKE THAT” game, where he led a massive comeback and yelled the words “YOU LIKE THAT” into the cameras.
In episode three, it shows how Cousins recovers his body after taking all of the hits that he does, shown when he goes to his chiropractor, his personal trainer, and the different stretches and meals he eats to get ready for the games every week. It then shows how the Vikings won a very important game, which ended very close, and the hard decisions that Cousins had to make to get the ball in the right positions to score and put the game away. Mariota also talks about his nutrition and the food that he eats so that he is ready every week. He has his own personal chef who also happens to be one of his childhood best friends and is still one of his best friends.
In episode four, it shows how the wives of each player help them during the season. It starts with how Mariota’s wife, Kiyomi, helps him remember plays by name and how she helps him memorize the Falcons offense throughout every week. It then talks about how Cousins works on his memory and focuses and how he can focus on the football side of things because his wife handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes things in his life. It then talks about Mahomes wife, Brittany, and how they are partial owners in the Kansas City Current soccer team, because of her extensive soccer background. Also talks about how Mahomes studies the team that they play that week, by taking notes on their plays and watching a lot of film throughout the week ahead of playing them. This episode really just shows what goes into studying for the next game and the routine that each player has, and how unique each one’s habits are.
In episode five, it starts by focusing on how Mariota and his wife are preparing for their baby and how they are balancing football to go along with this huge milestone in their lives. It shows that they are trying to find calm in their lives before the baby comes. It also shows how Mahomes has to make time for his family during the week even after a heartbreaking loss.
In the sixth episode of the series a lot happened in the world of football, which includes the Mariota’s having their baby in the middle of the season, they name their daughter Makaia. He bonds with her for a long time but also studies for the rest of his upcoming football season. Also it shows the Colts vs. Vikings game where the Indianapolis Colts jumped out to a 33-0 lead on the Cousins led Vikings, and Cousins led the largest comeback in the history of the NFL and the Vikings came out on top 39-36.
To start episode seven, it shows the Vikings playoff game against the Giants, which ended in heartbreaking defeat, but shows how Cousins goes home and how he unwinds from this loss by spending time with his family and singing with his kids. Later in the episode it focuses on Mahomes pre game rituals and what he does the day of their game and how he prepares just hours before gametime. Also later in the game Mahomes gets hurt in their games and limps off the field and shows his frustration with the injury.
In the finale of the great series, it shows the injury concern with Mahomes entering the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. It shows how he stretches and prepares his ankle ahead of the biggest game of the NFL season. They play in the Super Bowl and during the game hurts his ankle again and is out for a little while before returning to the game, and leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 38-35 Superbowl victory to claim his 2nd ring in the last four years. It shows how the Chiefs celebrate and the days following the Super Bowl, and he has the time of his life.
All in all, the Quarterback series is a very entertaining way to see the lives of these quarterbacks. Seeing what goes into each game and all of the time that they dedicate the season is very entertaining to see, and makes fans change their thoughts about quarterbacks because of how dedicated they are to their team and to winning. This series isn’t just fascinating to NFL fans but can also appeal to audiences that don’t know too much about football.
