Quarterback Season 2 drops back and launches football fans into the lives of three of the NFL’s best field generals from a variety of angles — up close and personal. You’ll see Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) at home chatting through plays with his wife, Christen Harper, or Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) and his teammate Ja’Marr Chase having a family dinner with their parents, and Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons) going through a local drive-through unrecognized after a game.

But at its core, Quarterback takes a closer look at the hardest position in sports, showing the mentally taxing, physically demanding work that goes into competing at an elite level, documenting the highs and lows of victory and defeat along the way. And there’s nothing more immersive than being able to hear directly from the quarterbacks themselves, whether they’re mic’d up at practice or in the heat of battle in the fourth quarter.

Let’s take a look at four key Quarterback Season 2 mic’d-up moments that reveal everything from what really goes down during a pregame huddle chant to a star player’s fascination with fossils.

1. Kirk Cousins leads huddle chants and takes over traps.

The rich culture and special sauce of a vibrant city like Atlanta is bound to surge through anyone who spends time there, star athletes included.

For Kirk Cousins, hearing “Swag Surfin’ ” by F.L.Y. (Fast Life Yungstaz) during a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium spawns memories of his days at Michigan State University from 2008 to 2011. That’s only one piece of his musical motivation — as revealed here, he also draws inspiration from the lyric “Walk into your trap, take over your trap,” from “Take Over Your Trap” by the late Atlanta artist Bankroll Fresh.

What does that phrase mean? “You go into someone else’s stadium, and you try to assert yourself,” Cousins explains. “That’s what everybody’s trying to do when they’re on the road.”

Over a span of weeks, Cousins brings high-octane energy and a newfound swag into the stadiums of opposing teams, throwing touchdowns and collecting Ws in enemy territory.

2. Joe Burrow reveals himself to be a fossil fanatic.

It’s exciting watching an elite quarterback make incredible plays week-to-week, but it’s also a treat to see someone enthusiastically nerd out over a subject they’re deeply interested in.

While the Bengals 2024 season was a roller-coaster ride that definitely hit some low lows, Burrow balled out and often kept Cincinnati’s high-powered offense productive even in losing efforts (racking up 43 touchdowns and 4,918 passing yards along the way).

Of course, you don’t consistently perform at a high level week in and week out unless you practice, but in this instance, Burrow is enjoying a well-earned moment of downtime while mic’d up, sipping water and gushing about a trip to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He’d gotten to see the Archaeopteryx fossil, a truly rare specimen; the museum’s is one of only 14 to have been discovered in the world. 

It’s a side of Burrow you’ve probably never seen — no pigskins being flung with precision, just one of the NFL’s very best declaring that fossils are always on his mind. Summing up his fascination with them, Burrow says, “They go back millions of years. That’s sick.”

3. Jared Goff watches his defense from the sidelines and gives Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen high praise.

Throughout the 2024 NFL regular season, it was uncommon to see the Detroit Lions get outscored (they lost only two games and won 15).

Goff led the powerful offense, throwing 37 touchdowns and often finding himself a winner in lopsided victories. So it was unusual to witness a moment like this one, in which Goff is stuck on the sidelines during a Week 15 clash with the Buffalo Bills, watching as the opposing quarterback, Josh Allen, tries to score on the Lions defense.

As seen here, Goff cheers on his defense, commends a well-crafted yet unorthodox pass from Allen (which is ultimately called back), and helplessly looks on as the Lions taste a rare defeat despite putting up 42 points.

Despite the loss, Goff displays sportsmanship and offers praise to the Bills’ Allen.

4. In which we step inside the mind of NFL quarterbacks before they snap the ball.

The NFL quarterback is widely considered the most difficult position in all of professional sports, and it’s never been more evident why than in this season of the show.

It’s not just the gargantuan, freakishly athletic lineman you’ve got rushing toward you after you hike the football, nor is it the tiny, ever-shrinking window of opportunity and exponentially growing room for error when you try to throw a precise pass directly to a recipient — it’s also every single thought that goes through the brain pre-snap.

Throughout the series, Burrow, Cousins, and Goff each call out elaborate, intricate, lengthy plays — a task that involves quick thinking that goes far beyond simple memorization while executing offensive schemes.

In these captivating scenes, each of the three quarterbacks talks through their individual pre-snap routine. You can imagine the intensity and the high stakes as they discuss the numerous variables they take into consideration, from checking the play clock and gauging precisely how much time they have before the ball must be hiked, to stashing multiple plays that they brought to the huddle, to analyzing the defense’s coverage.

Oh, and with all those things occupying real estate in the brain, there’s precious little time to process. “All of that takes place typically within 25 seconds and sometimes lower,” Goff says.

For plenty more mic’d-up moments and to discover a new level of respect and appreciation for Burrow, Cousins, and Goff, check out the rest of Quarterback Season 2, streaming now on Netflix.

Listen Now