In short
Joe Thomas reflects on how it feels to lose in the NFL and how he mentally rebounds week to week.
Guest backgrounds
Joe Thomas is a former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle, with 10 seasons, 47 wins and 112 losses, six head coaches, and about 18 starting quarterbacks.
Key claims
Losing is “the hardest thing in any sport” because NFL preparation is intense (60–70 hour weeks, including 10–20 hours of opponent film) and games are weekly with little margin. He says he uses a “two-day rule” (Monday/Tuesday hardest; by Wednesday he focuses only on the next week).
Notable examples
He contrasts NFL with basketball (another game tomorrow) and baseball (spring practice, less weekly preparation). He also references an ESPN-style quote about a man who works daily, grades off the charts, yet loses nearly every week.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOCoping with NFL Losses
0:33 to 1:01
Joe Thomas shares insights on handling losses in the NFL.
“And a throwback flick at the local drive-in.”
Coping with NFL Losses
1:07 to 4:33
Joe Thomas shares insights on handling losses in the NFL.
“47 wins, 112 losses, six different head coaches, 18-ish starting quarterbacks during your 10 seasons with Cleveland.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local Crocs store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Crocs store today. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Shave ice by the beach. A trip to the state fair. And a throwback flick at the local drive-in. They're more than just items to check off the summer bucket list. They're also opportunities to earn 2 % daily cash back when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay.
0:48Apply for Apple Card now and use in minutes with Apple Pay. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. Hey, it's Thursday, which means we're coming at you with a short, feel-good story from a past guest. Hope you enjoyed the clip. This week, Joe Thomas. 47 wins, 112 losses, six different head coaches, 18-ish starting quarterbacks during your 10 seasons with Cleveland. How do you handle so much losing? Well, it's been really tough. especially early in my career it was really difficult because I came from a program at Wisconsin that didn't lose much.
1:35My senior year we only lost one game but learning how to rebound from losing was probably the hardest thing that I had to do in the NFL because especially during my rookie season it was very difficult to put everything you have into a game and not get the results and then turn around two days after the game and be ready to dive into the next week of preparation with all your energy and enthusiasm and positivity that you need to prepare for an NFL game the next week. So I think kind of learning how to bounce back was one of the most important things in my career. Well and there was an interesting quote there was an ESPN profile that was written on you and I'm sure you read it but the quote was there is something romantic or maybe maniacal about a man who comes to work every day, pours his heart and soul into preparing for a game, and does so well that he grades off the charts, but loses that game nearly every week and still comes back every Monday for more?
2:38Yeah, I'm disturbed, for sure. Yeah, I don't know. It's the hardest thing in pro sports is to lose an NFL game because there's so few of them in basketball. You play a game every night. You lose tonight, oh well, we got another game tomorrow. And the preparation is just so different. In baseball, what do they practice a couple times in the spring and then take batting practice during the year? But other than that, you just go play. There's not a lot of preparation involved in football. You literally put an entire week's worth of work into every single game. And we're not talking about a 40-hour work week.
3:18We're talking about 60, 70 hour work week, you know, 10 to 20 hours of film study on your opponent alone for that week. And you put your entire heart and soul emotionally, physically, mentally in a game. And then to come up short, sometimes through no fault of your own, it's something that's difficult for the human mind to wrap themselves around, especially in most sports where you have a great deal of influence over the outcome. How does it affect you, the losing still to this day? Well, I think it's really hard Monday and it's really hard on Tuesday. But I think I've programmed myself enough where each week is like its own year in my life.
4:05And so a loss on the first week won't affect my second week of play because I kind of have a two-day rule. So Monday you feel horrible, Tuesday you feel horrible, but by the time I wake up on Wednesday morning, I've programmed and demanded on myself that I have forgotten about what happened the week before. I've taken the lessons away that I need to take, but now I'm completely focused on the next week. That's it for now, but if you're hungry for more In-Depth with Graham Bensinger interviews, head over to youtube.com slash Graham Bensinger. You can dive into our deep library, which includes more than 2 ,000 clips spanning 12-plus years.
4:47Thanks again for listening.
5:10This is sick!
From the publisher
Joe Thomas shares how he has learned to approach losses in the NFL over the course of 10 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and why losing on Sunday is the hardest thing across any pro sport.
