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Gridiron Heights is a weekly minute long cartoon on Bleacher Report created by Dennis Flynn, chronicling the exploits of National Football League players, coaches and executives within a fictional city known as Gridiron Heights. Started in 2016, the webtoon was the second original cartoon content that Bleacher Report created, preceded by the basketball spoof Game of Zones and followed by soccer spoof The Champions.

The series can be found in its entirety on YouTube. It also has an official Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.


Tropes:

  • 10-Minute Retirement: After the Season 6 finale showed Tom Brady announcing his retirement. the 2022 Draft Spectacular opens up with Tom Brady speeding back announcing he's coming back to Gridiron Heights.
  • Aborted Arc: "Gridiron Heights Live" was supposed to be every other week during Season 6. However, fan backlash killed the series halfway through its run with the show's creators acknowledging that episodes would return every week.
  • The Ace:
    • Patrick Mahomes. "Wow, what a fun, easy, sport!"
    • Fictional rookie QB prospect Brock Moxie is so good he lacks the series' trademark rookie QB baby voice.
    • Joe Burrow in his second season.
  • Accidental Misnaming: Jimmy Garoppolo frequently confuses older quarterbacks for other equally old (or older) ones. He's mistaken Tom Brady (his former teammate) for Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers for Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins for Alex Smith, and he's even misnamed himself.
  • Achilles' Heel:
    • Eli Manning is literally Bill Belichick’s Kryptonite.
    • When playing tennis with Deshaun Watson at the Elimination Country Club, Nick Foles takes a Groin Attack. Turns out that was the source of his postseason power, and hitting causes him to revert to "Regular Season Nick".
  • Always Someone Better: Russell Wilson and Drew Brees when it comes to the MVP award.
  • Apologetic Attacker:
    • Andrew Luck destroys the Texans, down to torturing one with a blowtorch, but he never stops apologizing and complementing them.
    • During the Purge, Luke Kuechly apologizes to Luck before tackling him (Luck compliments him for the sack). Khalil Mack likewise apologizes to Derek Carr after being forced to Purge his best friend by his new team.
    • Ryan Tannehill's ghost constantly apologizes to the young players he haunts.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The Purge is a time when defensive players attack quarterbacks, trash the city, steal money, and... engage in inappropriate celebrations (such as hip thrusts or mimicking weapons) while wearing cleats in non-regulation colors. Tom Brady also uses the Purge as his cheat day for his diet, as he's seen hiding behind a dumpster chowing down on a carton of ice cream.
  • Art Evolution: Around midway through the first season, the show dropped the animated Title Sequence, the character design became noticeably less stiff and exaggerated, and backgrounds started gaining more details. By the start of Season 2, the show fully upgraded to the Freeze-Frame Bonus fest that has stuck for the rest of its run.
    • Brock Purdy evolves from a stick figure model to a fleshed character in the span of two episodes.
  • Artistic License – Biology: Tom Brady refers to Sir Purr, the Carolina Panthers mascot, as a bear. None of the other team representatives correct him on it.
  • As Himself:
    • Antonio Brown in a Season 1 episode.
    • Though B/R football insiders Adam Lefkoe voices some characters in the show, most notably Ryan Fitzpatrick, he appeared as himself in the Season 5 finale parodying Margot Robbie in The Big Short, as well as the 2021 Draft Special discussing Brock Moxie. Draft analyst Connor Rogers, who also voices a few characters for the series, also played himself in the latter segment.
    • Falcons running back Mike Davis lent his voice to himself, Jameis Winston, and Sir Purr in the Falcons 2021 Schedule Release video.
  • Ax-Crazy:
    • Lamar Jackson. In all his appearances since 2019, he is depicted with a deep, maniacal voice and an overly-aggressive personality.
      Lamar Jackson: (regarding the Steelers) Myles Garrett messed with their heads, but I WILL MESS WITH THEIR MINDS!
    • In the “Bosa Brothers” video, edge-rushers (defensive ends and outside linebackers) Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, Khalil Mack, Myles Garrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Von Miller, TJ Watt, and (the other) Josh Allen are characterized as a gang of violent, trouble-making miscreants “living on the edge” led by the Bosa brothers. Ironically, JJ Watt is not part of their group, despite being a defensive end himself.
    • Every defensive player becomes a quarterback-hating brute in the “Annual Gridiron Heights Purge”. Even JJ Watt becomes this.
    • Tom Brady gets his Patrick Bateman on and literally kills Ben Roethlisberger with a (football-tipped) ax.
    • Vontaze Burfict is almost always seen in a Hannibal Lecter style mask, reflecting his real life reputation as a dirty player who deals out severe and often illegal hits.
      Fletcher Cox: You must love the Purge, Vontaze!
      Burfict: What's the Purge?
  • Badly Battered Babysitter: Eli Manning is left to the thankless task of babysitting the rookie mobile quarterbacks in Season 3. One of these rookies, Lamar Jackson, has to do so himself two years later, to slightly more success.
  • Bait-and-Switch: Lamar Jackson points out that "that creep on the Browns" gets a prize while he doesn’t. While the viewers are led to think it’s Deshaun Watson, it actually is a cackling Brownie the Elf.
  • Bait-and-Switch Comment: In the 2021 Draft Special, while attending Justin Fields's Pro Day, Kyle Shanahan says to Arthur Smith he doesn't trust Fields's background, leading to Fields looking shocked. Shanahan follows it up with "You know, Ohio State?".
  • Baritone of Strength:
  • Beautiful Singing Voice: Justin Tucker
  • Berserk Button: 28-3 in some early instances seems to set off Matt Ryan. As of the season 4 finale, "comeback" or "come back" serves as this for Kyle Shanahan.
    Narrator: Next season, Gridiron Heights will come back!
    Kyle Shanahan: NO! No more comebacks! No one is ever coming back again! [begins chopping at the Gridiron Heights sign with an axe]
  • Beware the Nice Ones: After spending most of the first two seasons as an mostly ineffectual nice guy plagued with injuries, Andrew Luck "goes full Liam Neeson" on the Texans, complete with a robot arm. note 
    Andrew: Oh golly! I don't know who you are or what you want, but I'm Andrew- Hello! I have a very particular set of skills, skills I've required over almost half a career. Skills like accuracy, good decision making, and recommending the perfect book. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you, and I'm sorry about that. If you let the AFC South go now, that will be the end of it. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you- you silly goose- and I will absolutely destroy you.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Patrick Mahomes has an exaggerated version of his “Kermit the Frog” voice, acts like a kid at a candy store, only worries about throwing his friend the football too hard... and is constantly dropping casual and coincidental Badass Boasts along the lines of how easy he finds everything right after someone else has expressed terror or nervousness. He is one of the few quarterbacks to avoid getting victimized in “The Purge”, and manages to unwittingly save Kirk Cousins and Cam Newton from Goodell’s ritual. Also, he nearly defeats both Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson in the “MVP Race”, despite a delayed start, and only stopped because he already won one.
  • Big Ball of Violence: Phil Rivers and Jon Gruden get caught in one as they fight over the 7th Seed, with Rivers coming out on top.
  • The Big Race: Since Season 4, every year has featured the candidates for MVP duking it out in a literal race with elements of Wacky Racing. Season 4 has them partake in a Mario Kart-style showdown, Season 5 a race down a snowy mountain, Season 6 a regatta, and Season 7 an aerial chase.
  • The Big Rotten Apple: The New York section of Gridiron Heights is full of shuttered businesses and constantly warring (and pathetic) teams.
  • Body Horror: Brock Purdy hangs a lampshade on the premise of The Santa Clause when he takes over the Niners' QB position and his face begins to take the shape of Jimmy Garoppolo.
  • Book Ends: Season Four's first episode ended with Andrew Luck upstaging Antonio Brown's latest insane, desperate plea for attention by announcing his sudden retirement. Its last episode begins with Luck upstaging Eli Manning's planned retirement to announce that he and his father are launching the XFL in Gridiron Heights.
  • Body of Bodies: The Washington Football Team's new mascot, Teamy the Team Monster, is a Humanoid Abomination made of the twisted bodies of various football players.
  • Brain Bleach: Tim Tebow, as the ghost of Urban Meyer's past shows Meyer his time as the coach of the University of Florida. It's deemed not appropriate for any audience and when the camera cuts back to the two, Tebow hastily flies away, yelling about how he feels like his eyes have sinned.
  • Brainless Beauty / Dumb Jock: Jimmy Garoppolo has minor shades of this, especially in Season 4's Super Bowl Episode ("Far from Mahomes").
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Gridiron Heights Live, where the characters take questions from B/R commenters in the app.
  • Broken Aesop: The A Christmas Carol parody has Nick Saban tell the audience that the lesson learned from Urban Meyer's tumultuous tenure in Jacksonville is that coaches should go back to college where they are treated like kings
  • Buddy Cop Show: Panthers WR Robbie Anderson claims in the stinger to the Receiver Corps episode that he and the team's mascot Sir Purr "go on adventures together and solve crimes and sh*t. It's dope as f*ck!"
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • Andrew Luck. In spite of being a Nice Guy, he was the frequent victim of injuries and disrespect in many videos that he had appeared in.
    • Eli Manning is also one of Gridiron Heights’ biggest punching bags, especially after Luck’s retirement. His younger self (albeit an apparition given by “Franchise the Clown”) even falls victim to a bitter Philip Rivers.
    • Daniel Jones has inherited Eli Manning's title as most of his appearances in Season 5 concern his Butt-Monkey status.
  • Call-Back: A subtle one in the Se7en parody episode, in which Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill take the roles of characters played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt respectively. Both characters had previously been featured in (parody versions of) other roles played by those same actors: Bridgewater took on the role of Freeman's character in the The Shawshank Redemption episode, and Hill took on the role of Pitt's character in the Fight Club episode.
  • The Cameo: A few examples of non-football players/personnel that have appeared in Gridiron Heights:
    • Major League Baseball: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout made an appearance as a representative of Diamond Heights in the Hardwood Hills episode, and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins made an appearance in the 2022 Delaware Clams episode.
    • Kanye West appears as he did while recording the Donda album at Mercedes Benz Stadium in the "Mean Girls" episode; Roger Goodell tells him to stop hiding out in team's stadiums.
    • National Basketball Association players James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Wiseman all appear in the Hardwood Hills episode.
  • Canada Eh:
    • Chase Claypool's accent (and character) revolve around him being Canadian.
    • Any hockey players that appear in Gridiron Heights are depicted with stereotypical Canadian accents, including Edmonton Oiler Connor McDavid.
  • Change the Uncomfortable Subject: After Ben Roethlisberger sacrifices himself during the AFC North snowball fight, he asks TJ Watt if he was a good man. Watt responds with "Uh... Shhhhhh".
  • Christmas Special: Parodied with "Mahomes for the Holidays".
  • Clamshells as Mouths: The fictional Delaware Clams mascot, Clammy the Clam opens and closes his clam shell mouth in order to speak.
    Clammy: Gurgle gurgle! Clam noises!
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: Patrick Mahomes is the biggest example in the show's cast, though Jacoby Brissett comes close.
  • Cluster F-Bomb: Baker Mayfield after realizing that he is reliving 2020 from the date that the Browns were eliminated from playoff contention. His curses overlap the Gridiron Heights title sequence.
  • Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: In the 2021 Atlanta Falcons schedule release video, Josh Allen tries and fails to fight the urge to smash through the folding table holding the Lombardi Trophy.
  • Companion Cube: Patrick Mahomes views the football as this, feeling bad when he throws it too hard and wanting to confess his feelings to it in Season 4's Super Bowl episode.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: Aaron Rodgers appears as one, complete with a pegboard proving the CIA killed JFK (much to Davante Adams' annoyance). Gets a Call-Back in the Season 7 finale, in which Rodgers' latest pet theory regarding the NFL being scripted is proven correct.
  • Cool Toy: The 7th Seed: Now even bad teams have a shot at the Playoffs!
  • Cool Train: One episode sees the NFC and AFC North inhabit one inspired by Snowpiercer.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: In Season 1, Roger Goodell is obsessed with money above all else, to the point of having a Scrooge McDuck-style vault full of gold he attempts to swim in. This was toned down significantly in later seasons.
  • "Die Hard" on an X: The Season 8 Christmas episode features Lamar Jackson playing the John McClane role after the 49ers Christmas party is crashed by LeBron James and his crew of NBA players.
  • Disco Dan: Jon Gruden, who pines for how football was played back when “men were men” (ergo, back in 2002).
  • Disney Death: A few characters are seemingly killed over the course of the series, only to turn up no worse for wear in later episodes. This includes Ben Roethlisberger (killed by Tom Brady when the latter gets his Patrick Bateman on), Jimmy Garoppolo (killed by Brock Moxie in the 2021 draft special), and several characters attacked by "Franchise the Clown".
  • Doorstop Baby: Kyler Murray's introduction in the Season 3 finale has him being left on Eli Manning's doorstep, complete with a note reading, "You can have him. — Baseball"
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?:
    • The “Running Back Committee” episode reveals that Running Backs feel like they are given less respect, attention, and (consequently) money than Wide Receivers.
    • Amon-Ra St. Brown's shtick is him constantly lamenting the fact that he's gotten overlooked his entire career, even at the most inopportune times.
    • In the Season 7 quarter-season carnival episode, Lamar Jackson is extremely frustrated that he can't win a prize when other players are winning prizes for doing less.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • Earlier episodes featured a different title sequence, a two segment format, a greater focus on the "Gridiron Heights" location and Roger Goodell as the Big Bad, and lacked the background jokes and Denser and Wackier plots that came to define the series. These attributes started to drop by the end of the first season and the show settled into the current formula by season two.
    • Before settling on Eli as a shrill, whiny Southern wimp starting in 2018, his voice and character varied wildly depending on the episode.
    • Josh Allen's original schtick in Season 3 was being The Faceless due to being too tall, referring to a common joke surrounding his draft hype. This was dropped by Season 4.
    • While the concept of rookies, and particularly rookie quarterbacks, being portrayed as children dates back to Season 1, the original implimentation of this, as seen in the first two seasons, gave them voices and mannerisms that suggested roughly elementary school-aged children. From Season 3 onwards, the series shifted to a much younger characterization more consistent with babies or toddlers. Making it weirder is that this updated characterization was subsequently RetConned as being the case for rookies as far back as 2004 (as shown in flashbacks in the "Franchise the Clown" episode), which makes the different characterization of the 2016 and 2017 classes completely nonsensical.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • When James Harrison tells TJ Watt that he's a Steeler and he should be nasty, TJ says, "like Big Ben?" Harrison hastily tells TJ not like that.
    • When the Patriots state they are going to tear the Eagles apart like Carson Wentz's ACL, Tom Brady says that's a step too far.
    • In the Season 5 MVP race, despite Brady spending most of the race being a cutthroat competitor, he appears genuinely concerned for Kyler Murray's safety when the latter attempts a terrifying aerial stunt. (Fortunately, DeAndre Hopkins is there to prevent any harm from coming to his QB.)
  • Every Year They Fizzle Out: When explaining that football fans like the same six storylines, the Script Writer specifically highlights "The Chargers losing in weird ways"
  • Face–Heel Turn:
    • In the "Bosa Brothers" episode, The Watt brothers (JJ, TJ, and Derek) and McCourty twins try to stop Nick and Joey Bosa's gang of defenders "living on the edge". Their plan fails when TJ Watt reveals himself to be "living on the edge" like the Bosas' crew.
    • In the Season 8 Finale, Patrick Mahomes lampshades this through a broadcasted message in the now Chiefs-controlled Gridiron Heights.
    Attention Gridiron Heights. I'm a villain now. Sorry.
  • Fake Memories: Ryan Fitzpatrick shows up as one of the ghosts of Cleveland Browns QB’s past. Derek Anderson reminds him that he never played for Cleveland, to Fitzpatrick’s shock and disbelief
  • Fake Static: Tom Brady to Julian Edelman when Edelman begs him to reconsider going to the Buccaneers. Especially funny considering this was a Face-Time call.
  • Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Twin brothers Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty.
  • Fish out of Water: Cam Newton after moving to New England.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: Loaded with them in the background, usually in the form of terrible puns on players' names or references to smaller stories from the previous week.
  • Full-Name Basis: Characters who are lesser-known figures in real life will occasionally be called by their full names, presumably to make it easier for the audience to place them. This includes Tennessee Titans wide receiver Corey Davis and running back Derrick Henry (before the latter broke out to become one of the better known running backs in the league) as well as Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins.
  • The Game Come to Life: Season 7, Episode 2's plot, as Kyler Murray is sucked into his video game console.
  • Gentle Giant: JJ Watt. He's a big, hulking defensive end, but he donates to charity and believes that defenders should be "nice and marketable"... at least until the Purge, where he embraces his violent urges while yelling about how he hates charity.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-Universe, Brits Love Gardner Minshew; the rookie QB is irrationally embraced by the British public after the Wembley game, seemingly just because of his terrific mustache.
    Rich Eisen: London loves Mediocre Minshew!
    Lord: Gardner Minshew has solved Brexit!
  • Girlfriend in Canada: In Season 5, the McCourty twins accuse Julian Edelman of pretending to have a long-distance friendship with someone named Tom- Jules insists he is real and lives in Tampa.
  • Good Angel, Bad Angel: During the 2022 MVP Race, Josh Allen ostensibly has a pair of these appearing on either shoulder, depicted as miniature versions of himself in angel and devil garb (complete with white uniform and color rush red uniform respectively). In practice, however, they're usually in agreement with each other.
    Allen: (to himself) Don't make any stupid mistakes, Josh!
    (Angels appear)
    Devil Josh: Nah, do something reckless!
    Angel Josh: That sounds fun!
    Allen: Barrel roll it is!
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Philip Rivers can't go a sentence without letting out a kid-friendly swear word.
  • Groin Attack:
    • “Big Nick Foles”’s weakness is getting hit in the Crown Jewels, which reverts him into “Regular Season Nick Foles”.
    • Titans coach Mike Vrabel vows to cut his penis off if that’s what it takes to defeat Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Wildcard round. Vrabel actually follows through on his promise after defeating them, much to everyone else’s disgust, leaving Patrick Mahomes to tie it back on.
    • Tua Tagovailoa chucks a football at Ryan Fitzpatrick's groin before Fitzpatrick leaves for Drew Lock's concert. Fitzpatrick sarcastically says he is so happy he has to mentor Tua while wincing in pain.
  • "Groundhog Day" Loop:
    • Baker Mayfield taking the Browns to the playoffs resets 2020, with the ghosts of Browns QBs past telling him the Browns have to miss the playoffs to break the loop.
    • In the Cowboy Bebop parody, Carson Wentz falls out of the same window five times, representing the ending of the 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 seasons. Each time he says something different:
      Where's my cool falling sooooooong?
      Just wait until 2017!
      Okay I'm out and they immediately won a Super Bowl, but imagine next year when they do have me-
      My decision making is sound. This will not happen ag-
      Alright fine, I'll go to the Colts.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Frank Gore.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Matt Nagy, whether due to Cody Parkey or his quarterback situation.
  • Haunted House: One appears in Season 5 (inspired by The Haunting of Hill House (2018)), haunted by the spirits of old, injured quarterbacks.
  • Heh Heh, You Said "X": As Kyle Shanahan shows Brock Purdy around in Santa's Clara, his introduction of Nick Bosa gets this out of the young defensive star:
    Shanahan: And this is Bosa, our sack master.
    Bosa: Heh heh, sack.
    • Played with in the Season 5 Super Bowl episode, when Gronkowski has this reaction depsite there being no discernable connotation to the word in question.
      Travis Kelce: (on Brady and Mahomes) They know there's 52 other players on the team, right?
      Gronk: Heh heh, 52.
      Kelce: Wait, do you just think any number is funny?
  • He's Back!: After retiring at the start of Season 4, Andrew Luck returns in the season finale, introducing the XFL to Gridiron Heights.
  • Heist Episode: Roughly Once a Season.
    • Season 3: Ryan Fitzpatrick leads "the greatest con men in the NFL" to hijack the starting job with the Bucs (which is apparently located in The Casino).
    • Season 4: The NFC East competes to steal the division title from a museum.
    • Season 5: Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt recruit superstars from the other eliminated teams to form the fake Delaware Clams team in order to steal the NFC East title.
  • Heroic BSoD: Tom Brady suffers one when he learns that former backup Jimmy Garoppolo had led the 49ers to a (then) undefeated record. He panics at the thought of his Patriots not being the only good team in the NFL, notes that the Niners had a good defense and “their own Gronk” (George Kittle) like his Patriots, and goes on a Madness Mantra about not being a product of Belichick’s system.
  • History Repeats: In-universe, the Season 7 finale has Aaron Rodgers having a series of visions where he sees identical events playing out in multiple years, including Bill Belichick asking Bill O'Brien to be his OC, Michael Thomas being excited to definitely play in the upcoming season, Stefon Diggs being disgruntled, and Josh Allen/Jim Kelly asserting that "next year will be the Bills' year!" Not to mention having the same opening scene as the Season 4 finale (which Rodgers promptly butts in to point out, showing the earlier scene as proof).
  • Hive Mind: Played for Laughs with the 49ers Running Backs (Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman, and Raheem Mostert; collectively dubbed the “Niners Sub-Committee” In-Universe), who show traits of this (most notably speaking in unison) in the “Running Back Committee” episode due to their nearly identical play styles in Real Life. Additionally, their appearances always show the three of them together.
    The Niners sub-committee: (in monotone unison) Deep Dive, Circle Back, Synergy.
  • Hollywood Hype Machine: The Season 7 premiere revolves around the aftermath of Josh Allen and Justin Herbert creating a "Hype House" and the media attention brought onto it, particularly for the Eagles and Tua Tagoviloa. Predictably, the hype is too much, and the house collapses upon itself.
  • Hulk Speak: Rob Gronkowski is portrayed as an incredibly strong character with limited vocabulary, save for the 2016 Thanksgiving episode.
    • Christian McCaffery talks this way when speaking to other characters; in contrast, he speaks perfectly normally in his frequent asides to the audience.
      McCaffery: You want CMC to join fake team? (Aside) It's time for a recruiting montage.
    • Teamy the Team Monster also talks this way.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Dan Campbell is portrayed as a cannibal in both the Season 5 finale and the Atlanta Falcons 2021 Schedule Release. Roger Goodell explicitly forbids this in the Season 6 trailer while cutting to a clip of Campbell.
  • Impact Silhouette: JJ Watt busts through a door to deliver a note from Jack Easterby to Deshaun Watson
    • After the Running Back Committee concludes their meeting, all of the members promptly exit by busting through the walls.
  • The Inspector Is Coming: Gridiron Heights scrambles to get ready before the "city inspector" comes to see if the NFL has solved racism, sexual harassment, and the pandemic before the 2020 season.
  • Ironic Echo: In a reference to the Progressive commercials starring Baker Mayfield who's portrayed as living at the Browns stadium, during the 2022 draft special, a disembodied voice taunts him as he struggles with the gate, saying "I thought the stadium was your home, Baker!" Baker breaks down and bemoans his circumstances.
  • Italian-American Caricature: Tommy Devito is portrayed like this, wearing a bowling shirt and chain, yelling to his mother, complaining about his lack of gabagool and the fact that he has only one chicken cutlet. He attempts to eat said chicken cutlet, but drops sauce on his shirt and resignedly says, "Ah, fughettaboutit". In a follow-up appearance, he’s shown working a construction job when the backup quarterbacks recruit him for the B Team. Adding further hilarity is that Devito does all this in a toddler voice due to the series' longstanding tradition of having rookie quarterbacks portrayed with baby voices.
  • It's All About Me: Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr.
  • Jack of All Trades: Taysom Hill. He can apparently do everything except make Sean Payton feel less broken inside.
  • Jerk Jock: Tom Brady stands out as the clearest example, though in a comedic series full of athletes, any of the characters can qualify.
  • Lactose over Liquor: Zach Wilson enjoys a glass of milk in a brandy sniffer in the 2022 Week 5 short.
    • In the "QB Support Group" episode, Bryce Young remarks that his fellow rookies are driving him "to the bottle". A cutaway shows that, in keeping with the "rookie baby" theme, the bottle in question is a baby bottle filled with milk.
  • Lazy Bum: "Smokin'" Jay Cutler, who puts the minimal amount of effort into literally everything. Aaron Rodgers' It's a Wonderful Plot shows a Jay with multiple Super Bowl rings who proudly says he "never quits".
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
    • Christian McCaffrey's main trait is addressing the audience in quick asides.
    • During the Season 5 MVP race, Lamar Jackson asks if Dalvin Cook saw "last year's episode" after he falls to a similar fate as Michael Thomas, even pulling up the clip on his phone.
  • Line-of-Sight Name: After being told by Roger Goodell to change the Redskins name because "the sponsors care now", Snyder comes up with "the Washington Football Team" by seeing Stefon Diggs steal a football from Josh Allen and seeing Patrick Mahomes hiding the Kansas City Royals team in the bushes.
  • Mad Libs Catchphrase: Patrick Mahomes' "Wow! What a fun, easy [whatever he just did]!"
  • The Man Behind the Man: Kyle Shanahan is this to Jimmy Garoppolo in Season 4's Super Bowl parody of "Spider-Man: Far From Home".
  • Manchild: Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are among the most prominent examples, though the whole cast is decidedly immature. Then there's the whole matter of the rookies, who often talk and act like literal children despite being in their early 20s.
  • Metaphorgotten: The fifth season uses a volcano that has appeared in Gridiron Heights to represent the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic; after the Titans experienced an outbreak that cancelled a game, James Conner referred to it as the team "testing positive for lava."
  • Musical Episode: The first three seasons each feature one or two diss track episodes. Season 4 swapped this for a Christmas Special with parodies of Christmas Songs.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg:
    • In the Se7en Parody episode, Taysom Hill tells the John Doe Expy that "We lost good men and Big Ben" in regards to all the starting quarterbacks that were injured by week 3.
    • In the 2021 Halloween special, Patrick Mahomes points out the three masked figures terrorizing the Playoff House are "Two mascots and Kyler Murray". Despite Murray's insistence that it isn't him, Chase Claypool and Alvin Kamara both agree that he's very recognizable.
  • Negative Continuity: The events of the 2020 Draft Special seemingly have no bearing on the rest of the series, as all the rookies are on their real-life-accurate teams to start the subsequent season despite several of them having been drafted by other teams in the special.
    • Taysom Hill is clearly an established, distinctive character who's recognized by other characters in the series... except in the Fight Club parody episode, in which he's inexplicably revealed to be a figment of Drew Brees' imagination. Most notably, even Sean Peyton doesn't know who Taysom is, despite the fact that Taysom is basically his lackey throughout the series, both before and after this episode.
  • New Transfer Student: Cam Newton to "Foxboro High" after joining the Patriots.
  • Nice Guy: Andrew Luck was this to a hilarious extent... all the way to his retirement. Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechly are other examples.
  • No Longer with Us: When recounting what happened during the 2022 divisional episode, Patrick Mahomes concludes that those lost (the Buccaneers, Titans, Bills, and Packers) are in a better place... The Pro Bowl.
  • Not Me This Time: Hinted at during the killer clown Halloween special, as Marcus Mariota is attacked by what appears to be Ryan Tannehill with a chainsaw. Mariota assumes it's an apparition by the clown, but...
    Clown: Uh, I think that's actually Ryan Tannehill.
  • Older Than They Look: All of the "rookie babies" are this to some degree, as they're men in their twenties being portrayed as young children. It's exaggerated with Joe Burrow, a slightly older draftee who was older in his rookie year (23) than several characters who had already graduated past the "rookie baby" stage.
    Lamar Jackson: (to Burrow, who has just lit up a cigar) You can't smoke!
    Baby!Burrow: I'm a month older than you, bro.
  • One Dialogue, Two Conversations / Finishing Each Other's Sentences: The 2018 AFC Divisional episode has Tom Brady, Sean Payton, Sean McVay, and Patrick Mahomes all discussing the gameplan for the divisional playoffs, cutting to each team's respective locker rooms mid-sentence.
  • The Oner: Employed in the 1917 parody depicting Alvin Kamara's journey through the NFC South (Christian McCaffrey at one point thanks the cameraman for keeping up).
  • One-Steve Limit: Averted with Josh Allen (the quarterback) and “the other” Josh Allen (the defensive player).
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Clammy, the fictional Delaware Clams mascot, has this attitude towards Teamy, the Washington Football Team's temporary mascot.
    Teamy: Teamy already a dead man. Washington going to get real mascot soon.
    Clammy: Only I get to kill you, ya hear? Mark my words!
  • Parody Episode: The series has been comprised primarily of these since Season 2. Subjects have included Stranger Things, John Wick, American Psycho, Ocean's Eleven, Rocky, The Purge, Taken, Fight Club, It's a Wonderful Life, Avengers: Infinity War, Se7en, Joker, It, The Mandalorian, Goodfellasnote , Spider-Man: Far From Home, Footloose, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, G.I. Joe,1917, Snowpiercer, Jingle All the Way, Groundhog Day, The Dark Knight Rises, the World Series of Poker, Dragon Ball Znote , Pirates of the Caribbean, The Big Short, Mean Girls, The Third Man, The Strangers, Remember the Titans, Cowboy Bebop, Succession, A Christmas Carol, The Matrix, Yellowjackets, TRON, Forgetting Sarah Marshallnote , The Bear (2022), Only Murders in the Building, Paranormal Activity, The Hangover, Top Gun: Maverick, Fargo, The Santa Clause, Behind the Music, Avatar: The Way of Water, 8 Mile, The Last of Us (2023), Saw, Five Nights at Freddy's, Mad Max: Fury Road, The A-Team, Die Hard, Mortal Kombat and WWE.
  • Perpetually Protean: The Scriptwriter in the Season 7 finale is represented by a wall of TV screens that show a different emoji to convey what the scriptwriter is saying.
  • Perpetual Smiler:
    • Andrew Luck and Larry Fitzgerald, due to their Nice Guy personalities, are drawn with constant smiles that border on creepy.
    • Matthew Stafford and his fellow serviceable QBs on weaker teams adopt this during the Joker parody episode.
    • For some reason, Mac Jones is always sporting a rather intimidating one.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Kyler Murray is tiny compared to every other character on the series, likely due to how much his size was a topic of discussion ahead of his rookie year.note  Highlighted in the episode based on The Mandalorian, in which Kyler is literally a Baby Yoda Expy.
  • Pirate Episode: The Super Bowl LV episode is a parody of Pirates of the Caribbean, with Tom Brady playing Barbossa and Patrick Mahomes playing Jack Sparrow.
  • Pirate Song: In the Pirates of Gridiron Heights Episode, sung by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Please Subscribe to Our Channel: Starting in Season 4, videos posted on YouTube had a post-episode "please subscribe" bumper delivered by one of the characters, mostly tied into the episode with certain bumpers repeating themselves (Tom Brady pushing his pliability rhumbas before Julian Edelman taking over, Philip Rivers g-rated swearing chastising lurkers for not subscribing, Devin and Jason McCourty finishing each other's sentences while confusing each other for the other, and Joe Burrow demanding "Odell money" for his appearance)
  • Picture Day: Every season since Season 2 has the Week Fourteen "Playoff Picture" episode. A guest photographer (from the media) will take the picture, with Troy Aikman doing it in S2, Jason Witten in S3, Rob Gronkowski in S4, Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport in S5, Peyton and Eli Manning in S6, Scott Hansen in S7, and Stephen A. Smith in S8. Most of the episode consists of getting the non-playoff teams out of the picture and moving the contenders around, with the odds on favorite taking up the entire shot at the end.
  • Pokémon Speak: Used in the 2020 NFL Divisional round episode (a Parody Episode of various Anime, including Pokémon), where the Los Angeles Rams take the role of Sean McVay's Pokemon and speak only their own names.
    • In the 2023 Draft Special, when the rookie QBs are pitching themselves:
      CJ Stroud: I went to Ohio State, but I swear I'll work out!
      Bryce Young: Of course I'm short, my name isn't Bryce Old.
      Will Levis: We fit together like coffee and mayo.
      Anthony Richardson: ANTHONYYYYYYY RICHARDSONNNNNNN!"
    • Richardson continues to do this in all of his Season 8 appearances, culminating in the season finale where he does this several times while still never saying anything other than those two words.
  • Poor Communication Kills: In the 2020 Halloween special, Drew Lock misunderstands an instruction to lock the door until it's too late.
    Minkah: Drew, lock the door!
    Drew Lock: What about the door?
    Everyone: Lock the door!
    Drew: Oh... (gets attacked by ghost Tannehill)
  • Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Drew Lock has a rap career that's attended only by other white middling quarterbacks; the Receiver Corps list of "Pending Missions" has the status of "Make Drew Lock cool" listed as "Impossible".
  • Punny Name: Numerous gags (including many of the Freeze Frame Bonuses) involve plays on the names of players and other notable NFL figures.
  • Put on a Bus: Discussed in the 2023 Draft Spectacular. Roger Goodell mentions that with the new characters coming in, certain characters will likely be retired, stopping the new monorail at a storage facility. Jerry Jones is saying goodbye to Ezekiel Elliott while Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan look on. Later on, in a post-episode tagline, Wentz cheerfully talks about going to a nice team upstate, Ryan bleakly looks on saying that they'll come back for them, and Joe Flacco insists that the Ravens will come calling. It's then shown that the storage facility is overloaded with characters insisting they'll be back, with Ryan Leaf begging to get out.
  • The Quarterback: Half of the cast are National Football League Quarterbacks.
  • Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: The "B-Team", assembled of a colorful cast of QB backups, is set up as this (though Jameis Winston is notably too weird to join).
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: Obviously this is a series that focuses on what happens in the NFL and parodies it on a weekly basis.
  • Red and Black Totalitarianism: When Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs take over Gridiron Heights in the finale, the buildings are draped with red banners with the Chiefs logo, and the refs wear red and black uniforms with motorcycle helmets.
  • Remember the New Guy?:
    • Bengals Coach Zac Taylor asserts himself as being an important character in both the Mandalorian episode and the closing seconds of the Season 4 finale, despite being the new coach of the then perpetually irrelevant Bengals.
    • While trying to get the rookie quarterbacks to go to bed in a season 5 episode, Lamar Jackson corners them behind a couch. He proceeds to pull out Jacksonville Jaguars backup QB Jake Luton from behind the couch, leading to this exchange:
    Lamar Jackson: Children are not the future. I am the future! (pulls Jake Luton from behind the couch) Wait, who are you?
    Jake Luton: Hi, I'm future trivia answer Jake Luton.
  • Repetitive Audio Glitch: In the 2021 Halloween special, Rodrigo Blankenship accidentally starts an old record:
    I love you, but just one question. Are we all doomed for regression?
    *skip* Doomed for regression?
    *skip* Doomed for regression?
    *skip* Doomed for regression?
  • Retroactive Legacy: The "100 Years of Gridiron Heights" episode portrays the cartoon as 100 years old, with Johnny Unitas as its first breakout star and with multiple "lost" episodes.
  • Running Gag:
    • An NFC team barely in the playoff hunt in their own division shows up as the NFC East leading "Delaware Clams" in order to get in on the playoff picture. In a Season 5 episode, this is fleshed out into a full-on Heist Episode with Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt recruiting star players to form the Clams to steal the NFC East title.
    • Ryan Fitzpatrick incorrectly remembering the teams he’s played for, particularly ones that start with the letter “B”.
  • Sadistic Choice: Parodied in the Saw spoof.
    • Stefon Diggs has to either pledge to not blame others for his problems or be thrown by a tablet.
    • Aaron Rodgers is allowed to leave, but only by way of artificial turf. He tries, but it gets the better of him.
    • Bijan Robinson has to cut off his own hand ("Running backs only need one!") or shave his coach Arthur Smith's mustache.
    • Travis Kelce needs to either let his brother Jason die or publically admit that Beyoncé's concert tour is better than his girlfriend Taylor Swift's (and thus be torn apart by her rabid fans).
    • Subverted by Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Their captor tells them that either one can kill the other and survive, or they'll both be subject to the "blades of death", a series of spinning knife-like fan blades. They refuse to play along, with Kupp citing the fact that, as Rams, they "know how to deal with opposing fans".
    • Lions coach Dan Campbell doesn't even wait to hear his, sawing off his own chained leg immediately after waking up despite the key sitting right next to him.
    • A bonus scene shows Kyle Shanahan being offered the choice of continuing the 49ers losing streak, or signing a quarterback to a second contract. Shanahan resignedly says he can't and is immediately attacked by Who Dey.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Discussed, then later averted. In the Tight End University stinger, Urban Meyer holds a press conference to announce he's leaving the Jacksonville Jaguars to coach TEU. When informed that it's not a Power 5 school, Meyer hastily backtracks, reaffirming his commitment to the Jaguars before letting out a resigned sigh.
  • Secret Weapon: The Tampa Bay receivers create one for the Receiver Corps: a ticking Time Bomb boasting Antonio Brown's distinctive hairstyle.
  • Shaking the Rump: Twice in Season 1.
    • In the original title sequence, Antonio Brown is seen twerking outside of his barbershop.
    • In the Christmas special, Santa Claus uses his magic to make an angry Roger Goodell twerk, to Antonio Brown's delight. Goodell later does it again at the end.
  • Shared Universe: In a "Blink and you'll miss it" moment, when Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt ride the subway to Hardwood Hills, the map shows that The Champions Mansion is the next stop on the line. Additionally, "The studio they used to shoot Game of Zones" is a spot on the Hardwood Hills map.
  • Shout-Out: The tagline for the Brock Purdy Santa Clause episode is a reimagining of the classic M & M’s commercial where Red and Yellow run into Santa, to the point where Purdy as Santa and Tom Brady both exclaim “He does exist/They do exist!” and faint.
  • Sickly Green Glow: The Washington Football Dump has multiple leaks with green toxic waste coming through the cracks, at least until Dan Snyder patches everything over with the Commander Hogs Trash Palace. Even with the cosmetic improvements, the dump still falls apart.
  • Single-Minded Twins: Devin and Jason McCourty. Played for Laughs, especially with the two of them getting confused on who’s Devin or Jason.
  • Sir Swears-a-Lot:
    • Baker Mayfield. Played for laughs during his rookie season, when his toddler voice contrasted with his vulgar dialogue.
    • Played With with regards to Philip Rivers. He swears a lot... but only with kid-friendly cuss words. He finally swears for real after taking out his anger on an apparition of a younger Eli Manning.
  • Ski-Resort Episode: The Season 5 MVP Race takes place on a mountain, as the MVP candidates race down the slopes while the OK QBs sit back at the cabin reading slam poetry. DeAndre Hopkins is also briefly seen sitting in a cafe, as he casually catches Kyler Murray from an aerial stunt.
  • The Smart Guy: Real-life aerospace engineer Josh Dobbs is cast in this role on "The B-Team"... before he gets benched.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Jay Cutler usually has a cigarette in his mouth in his appearances. Joe Burrow is usually seen lighting up a cigar in his appearances, Played for Laughs in his rookie season given his baby voice.
    Lamar Jackson: You can't smoke!
  • Speaking Like Totally Teen: Pete Carroll dresses up like the "How Do You Do, fellow kids" meme character and speaks in teen slang during the Season 7, Week 2 episode
  • Split Personality: Taysom Hill is a Tyler Durden-type one for Drew Brees.
  • Split Screen: The MVP Racers enter one in the last leg of the Season 5 race shortly before they are all knocked out by an avalanche; Patrick Mahomes notes he was left out as he pulls to the finish.
  • Spot the Thread: The "Delaware Clams"' attempt to steal the NFC East playoff spot is exposed when "Coach" Zac Taylor mentions that he never doubted his team for a second.
    Joe Judge: Wait... you NEVER doubted an NFC East team?
    Doug Pederson: That doesn't seem right...
    Jerry Jones: They're frauds!
  • The Stoic: Sam Darnold tends to deliver his lines with very little emotional range, as a result of his soul being deadened from playing on the Jets.
  • "Stop Having Fun" Guys: Tom Brady’s portrayal In-Universe, when he isn’t acting like Patrick Bateman. His coach, Bill Belichick, is also this.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Once the playoffs begins, Nick Foles turns into the bigger and much more aggressive "Big Nick". The only way to turn him back is to hit him in the groin... or bring back Carson Wentz from injury.
  • Super Mode: Andy Reid after winning the Super Bowl for the first time.
  • Surfer Dude: The characterization of Justin Herbert following his rookie year, with his accent being so thick that some other characters struggle to understand him.
  • Terminator Impersonator: Fictional QB prospect Brock Moxie exhibits many of the characteristics of the trope: a large, muscular artificial lifeform with glowing red eyes and a propensity to kill (even going to far as to kill Jimmy Garoppolo).
  • This Is Gonna Suck: When Aaron Rodgers is grabbed by the Jersey Swap machine, he excitedly says "Oh no! You got me!" with the expectation that he'd be getting a new jersey. When the machine gives him a new Packers jersey, he deadpans, "Oh, this is just my life forever now, is it?"
  • Tiny Tim Template: Trevor Lawrence takes on this role in a Season 6 episode — with Urban Meyer in the role of Scrooge — although he objects to the moniker "Tiny Trevor" given that he's 6'6". Meyer, however, is unaffected.
  • Title Drop: Averted, Aaron Rodgers tries to alert the viewers that he and the other NFL players are in a scripted show. While being dragged away by refs to a "darkness retreat", he nearly says "Gridiron Heights", but is cut off by a compilation of themed Gridiron Heights Title Cards that ends on the traditional sign logo.
  • Token Evil Teammate:
    • In the “Purge” episode, Drew Brees (in disguise) is the only quarterback who is in league with the “New National Football League”, the entity in charge of the “Annual Gridiron Heights Purge”, and seeks to sacrifice Cam Newton and Kirk Cousins in Roger Goodell’s ritual.
    • TJ Watt is this compared to his brothers JJ and Derek. JJ is arguably the nicest defensive player in Gridiron Heights, and Derek is essentially the Generic Guy among the three. TJ, on the other hand, engages in acts of mischief under James Harrison's influence, and joins the Bosa brothers and their crew of defenders "living on the edge" in wreaking havoc on Gridiron Heights.
  • Too Dumb to Live:
    • Jameis Winston. He mindlessly walks off a boat in the “Florida” episode, and in Gridiron Heights’ parody of IT, Jameis becomes “Franchise the Clown”’s first victim when he quickly falls for his trap (crab legs) and jumps into the sewer without hesitation. Even the clown is surprised by how easy it was.
    • Antonio Brown becomes this in Season 4. He builds a rickety house that immediately falls off a cliff, and freezes his feet in blocks of ice.
    • Patrick Mahomes very nearly mistakes lava for ketchup.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • Zac Taylor initially was introduced as "Bengals Coach" in his Gridiron Heights debut, but after guiding the Bengals to a division title and a Super Bowl appearance, he gained a more prominent role in the series.
    • Matt Stafford was treated mostly as The Woobie due to his tenure on the Lions. Even after being traded to the Rams he was portrayed as not trusting his success. During the Super Bowl LVI cartoon, Stafford finally learned to stand up for himself thanks to a well-timed pep talk from Eminem, culminating in him using a flamethrower to disperse Joe Burrow's Wild Teen Party.
  • Tunnel of Love: The Tunnel of Jordan Love, to be specific; quarterbacks and their backups go through it during the quarter season carnival, to mixed results.
  • The Unfavorite: Ironically, Tom Brady appears to be this in the eyes of Bill Belichick. Belichick often shows disappointment with his star QB while also lavishing praise on former Patriots backup (and current Niners starter) Jimmy Garoppolo.
    Brady: I lied to Hulu. I'll do it, I'll move!
    Belichick: I don't think about you as much as you think I do.
  • Unwanted Assistance: Deshaun Watson tries to use the “Bullet Bill O’Brien” power-up to catch up with Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson in the MVP race. The power-up ends up all but ruining his chances to win, as it brings him to a mud pit way behind Wilson and Jackson.
  • Verbal Tic:
    • Jon Gruden's habit of adding "man" to the end of his sentences.
    • Sean Payton yelling "TAYSOM!"... even when he's not addressing Taysom.
    • Kyler Murray tends to end his sentences with "fam".
    • Zac Taylor adding his name in front of words that rhyme or sound similar, e.g. "Zac Nap" "Zac Stacks", etc.
    • "ANTHONY RICHARDSOOOOOOON!"
  • Verbal Backspace: While explaining the Patriot way to Cam Newton, Julian Edelman explains that only Rob Gronkowski was allowed to have fun "Because he's whi-yy we were winning".
  • Vocal Dissonance:
    • Rookie quarterbacks are given little kid voices despite the fact that they are in at least their early 20s. Some rookies at other positions have this as well, though it's not especially common with non-quarterbacks.
      • Played With in regards to Nick Bosa. Bosa still has a kid’s voice, but he sports a shrill, angry tone (to represent his mischievous attitude) in comparison to the other rookies’ more toddler-like voices.
      • Kyler Murray is the sole exception among the rookie QBs due to his animated appearance as an actual baby. That is, until his voice drops dramatically in his second year with zero change in his physical stature.
      • In the Hardwood Hills episode, JJ Watt bumps into a towering James Wiseman, who asks him in his rookie baby voice, "Are you lost, little boy?"
      • In the 2021 Draft Special, hulking offensive tackle Penei Sewell is given a rookie baby voice.
        Penei Sewell: Remember, this draft season, focus on your o-line!
      • Brock Purdy loses his baby voice very quickly after filling in Jimmy Garoppolo's role, Santa Clause-style.
        Brock Purdy: [looking at himself in a mirror as his voice changes and he grows a beard] My cheekbones are more photogenic...and my voice is deeper? Oh no, is this a horror story?
      • Trevor Lawrence keeps his baby voice in his 2022 debut because according to him, last season didn’t count. However, he does appear without the baby voice later in the season.
      • Like Purdy before him, Tyson Bagent loses his rookie voice almost immediately singing during the Chicago Bears' performance in the Untalented Show:
        Bagent: [in rookie voice] We will never forget our domination... [voice suddenly matures] of the Raider Nation!
        Matt Eberflus: Tyson, no! You're too good!
    • CJ Stroud's rookie baby voice is inconsistent. While his appearances in the Draft Spectacular and the MVP Race episodes have been consistent with him being voiced by a toddler, in a flashback during the QB support group, his voice and mannerisms are more consistent with that of a preteen.
    • For a non-rookie example, we have Patrick Mahomes and his "Kermit the Frog" voice, although in the Season 8 finale he abandons this for a deeper, more malevolent sounding voice.
    • Carrie Underwood develops a possessed man's voice in the "Thursday Night Football" episode when saying that Titans-Jaguars is the ultimate TNF matchup.
  • Waxing Lyrical: Russell Wilson tries to remember what Ciara always says in order to finish the MVP race. After initially dismissing her comment that she'll only stay in Seattle if he dresses better, he remembers the opening lines to her hit song:
    Ciara: Automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh.
    Russell Wilson Let me do the 1,2, step!
  • We Can Rebuild Him: Jerry Jones attempts this with Tony Romo in an early episode, creating "Robo-Romo". At first it works too well and he fires a football out of his Arm Cannon so hard it severs Dez Bryant's hands. Then he immediately falls to pieces.
  • "We're Live" Realization: In the Season 6 trailer, Roger Goodell ends his press conference explaining the new rules for Gridiron Heights by asking if they can do a take where everyone applauds. The producer informs him that they were live, to Goodell's shock.
    Goodell: You can make cartoons live!? Oh God!
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Tom Brady desperately looks for approval from his coaches, first Bill Belichick, then Bruce Arians.
  • What Did I Do Last Night?: The "Super Bowl Hangover" episode takes this to absurd extremes, with Matthew Stafford, Zac Taylor, and Joe Burrow waking up eight months after the Super Bowl with no idea what happened in the interim. Taylor freaks out that there's a tiger in the bathroom that turns out to be his own team's mascot, no one can find Allen Robinson (and Stafford can't even remember what he looks like), Burrow is the only one who even remotely has his wits about him, and they end up having to look through the security footage to piece together how they ended up where they are.
  • When I Was Your Age...: Ryan Fitzpatrick gives a speech to this effect to a very bemused Tua Tagovailoa.
  • Whole-Plot Reference: Lampshaded in the Season 7, Week 4 episode. After a parody of The Bear centered around the Broncos, Justin Fields complains that it didn’t make sense, given the fact that 1) his team is actually named the Bears, and 2) The Bear is set in Chicago.
  • Wild Teen Party: The premise of the Super Bowl LVI episode. Joe Burrow and the Bengals invite themselves to the Rams house and start a rager, complete with appearances from celebrities including Drake, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, LeBron James, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Mary J. Blige. It devolves into a "football themed fight at a well produced hip hop dancery when Matt Stafford breaks up the party using a flamethrower and the fire alarm.
  • Yet Another Christmas Carol: The framework of the Season 6 episode about Urban Meyer's firing from the Jaguars.
  • You Are Number 6: In the Gridiron Heights Germany special, Geno Smith refers to Tyler Lockett by name. Tyler gets emotional, confessing that Russell Wilson always referred to his teammates by their number.
  • You're Not My Father: After Sean McVay finds Zac Taylor passed out on the floor of the Rams house, he questions how Zac got there. Zac hastily replies he had a little Zac nap and then defensively asserts that he has the right to have fun, culminating in him angrily shouting "You're not my dad anymore!" Sean then responds that Zac is two years older than him.
  • Zombie Apocalypse:
    • A Season 5 episode features the quarterbacks hunkered down in the midst of one (with the zombies all being pass-rushers).
    • The Super Bowl LVII episode is a parody of The Last of Us (2023) with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes escaping a horde of zombie Eagles fans and players, while Travis Kelce gets bitten and transforms into "the Eagle Kelce" (his brother Jason).

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