Best/Worst NFL Schedule Release Videos (Thank you to: Washington Post - WAPO)

[Never NEVER Give-up]

From the Washington Post.  Bills were ~ 24th.  The Seahawks' version was awesome - all the little jabs at their opponents - hysterical . . . needs to be watched 2-3 times.
Analysis by Des Bieler of the Washington Post

 

Wednesday brought what has become the Super Bowl for NFL teams’ social media staffers: the unveiling of the league’s full schedule. Over the past few years, teams have increasingly vied with each other to produce the most amusing, or at least viral, videos that go over their respective schedules.

 

The 2025 crop contained a number of excellent entries to the genre, with the effect of relegating to just-okay status efforts that would have wowed not too long ago. Then there was the Indianapolis Colts’ video, a Minecraft-inspired piece that was deleted shortly after it was posted. 

 

 

Given that the point of these videos is to generate engagement, the fact that the Colts’ video was taken down — because of a joke about Tyreek Hill’s 2024 detainment, and because Indianapolis lacked sign-off from the folks at Minecraft, the team later said in a statement — means it can’t be considered the best of the night, although it certainly generated interest.

 

We do need to crown a winner, though, what with all of this ostensibly being about sports. So here is a ranking of the schedule release videos. I’ve organized it into tiers, with my personal favorite alone at the top.

 

 

 

Cream of the crop

Seattle Seahawks — I greatly enjoyed the concept and execution of this piece, in which fan favorites old (Steve Largent, Cortez Kennedy, Marshawn Lynch) and new (Devon Witherspoon) are turned into action figures in a 1980s-style ad. Things move along briskly, with the video checking in at under two minutes, and divisional foes come in for appropriately extra mockery in this amusing effort.

Top tier

Los Angeles Chargers — Last year, I described the Chargers as “the reigning kings of this little corner of the NFL world,” and although this year’s video didn’t exactly raise the bar, it met one that the team had already placed very high. Also, possibly unlike the Colts, the Chargers got explicit permission from Microsoft for their take on Minecraft, filled as usual with blink-and-you-missed-it roasts of opponents.

Atlanta Falcons — Instead of “Mario Kart,” it’s “ATL Kart,” in which an animated version of running back Bijan Robinson races around and bumps off opponents. While a pleasing visual spectacle unfolds, the Falcons throw in a slew of jabs, including at Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon “We’re not talking about this” Hudson.

Tennessee Titans — With a well-done send-up of those ubiquitous pharmaceutical ads, the Titans introduce Schedule-rizi for fans suffering from FSW (football season withdrawal). The best part comes in the matchup of 2025 opponents with unpleasant side effects.

Arizona Cardinals — A rap track about the upcoming slate is performed by Cards linebacker Mack Wilson, a.k.a. Rocketship, who also wrote the verses (per ESPN). Far be it from me to judge the quality of Wilson’s flow, so I’ll just credit the team with doing something different and compelling.

Las Vegas Raiders — In the manner of the old “This is SportsCenter” ads, we see ersatz slice-of-life scenes from the Raiders’ facility that refer to their schedule. The team certainly put a fair amount of work into this, piling up enough footage to even include outtakes at the end.

San Francisco 49ers — One of a number of homages to video games, the Niners’ contribution goes for an old-school aesthetic based on “Oregon Trail,” with plenty of shots at opponents. Bonus points for being one of several videos to highlight new Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen’s cringe-inducing rendition of “Duval.”

New Orleans Saints — Borrowing from a “Key & Peele” skit, an “angry translator” behind new coach Kellen Moore aggressively refashions his responses about the team’s upcoming schedule during a faux news conference, one that features actual reporters. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this media member enjoyed it.

Chicago Bears — Actor and Chicago native Lamorne Morris plays a Bears employee tasked with recruiting players to track down various Ben Johnsons (apart from the team’s new head coach) accidentally sent the schedule in advance. A fun, breezy watch that also features Morris’s “New Girl” co-star Jake Johnson.

Middle tier

Pittsburgh Steelers — Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig, former Wisconsin Badgers now teammates in Pittsburgh, go hunting for Sasquatch in the Pennsylvania woods. The pair display good chemistry, and the overall premise is reasonably creative, even if the references to upcoming opponents are less so.

New England Patriots — In another video that showed teammates appearing to legitimately be having fun with each other, notably brainy backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs oversaw attempts by four other Patriots to pass the time-honored egg-drop challenge. How did they fare? The Pats would certainly prefer that you watch to find out.

New York Jets — While most of the videos were posted at or near the appointed hour of 8 p.m., the Jets waited another 45 minutes, which gave them time to make a joke at the Colts’ apparent expense. New York’s video made use of infinite-zoom art.

Minnesota Vikings — After sharing a video Tuesday in which Vikings fans were asked if they would go to an unmentioned length to support their team, Minnesota’s schedule release video shows some of those fans getting what appeared to be real tattoos that poked fun at opponents in a visually pro-Vikings way. A solid payoff for the setup.

Kansas City Chiefs — “Cash Cab” host Ben Bailey drives a “Chiefs Cab” for this version of the trivia-focused game show. A solid concept, but not overly entertaining in its execution and, at nearly six minutes, it could have used some more editing (at least that’s the opinion of a certain journalist tasked with watching every team’s video in one sitting).

New York Giants — You don’t have to know that this is derived from a “Love Island” meet-the-cast segment to appreciate its eagerness to mock opposing fan bases or their regional idiosyncrasies. Viewers’ mileage will definitely vary, though, on how funny they think this actually is.

Los Angeles Rams — I’m deducting a few points for the inclusion of a laugh track to help sell the so-so jokes about opponents recited by actress Brenda Song in a “Daily Show”- style format. I did like, however, comedian Taran Killam turning up to provide more mockery of Coen’s “Du-vaaal” gaffe.

Green Bay Packers — They went for it in admirable, if not always coherent, fashion with running back Josh Jacobs slipping into a surrealistic fever dream. Green Bay fans are far more likely than most to get all the Pack-centric references.

Washington Commanders — A RollerCoaster Tycoon-derived work that mostly pokes gentle fun at opponents and goes for smiles from Washington fans with callbacks to moments from last season such as the Hail Mary against the Bears and Frankie Luvu’s dive over the pile to stop an Eagles tush push.

Denver Broncos — The theme here is mutton busting, a rodeo event for kids in which they try to ride a sheep. There’s something to be said for watching a bunch of youngsters hit the dirt (we’re told no one was harmed during filming), but the one-note aspect of the video limits its relative appeal.

Houston Texans — If you’re feeling nostalgic for the Budweiser “Whassup?” ads from 20-plus years ago, you’ll love this video, which features Dennis Quaid amid other local luminaries and at least has good energy.

Baltimore Ravens — If you loved “Severance,” you … well, I, for one, wasn’t strongly moved by the great lengths the Ravens went to recreate scenes from the hit show. I did, however, appreciate the intensity of General Manager Eric DeCosta’s commitment to the bit.

Bottom tier

Cincinnati Bengals — Most of the jokes here are tucked into fine print that scrolls by as a legal disclaimer during a portion meant to look like film credits. Between the difficulty of discerning that part and the decidedly slow pace of the rest of the video, it all feels a bit lacking.

Jacksonville Jaguars — In featuring Ashton Hall, a fitness influencer whose rigorous morning routine went viral recently, the Jags made a local nod to their city, given that he is a Jacksonville native. The video is a bit straightforward, though, and in the fast-changing world of online content, Hall’s moment already feels like it has come and gone.

Carolina Panthers — Players ostensibly gathered to help reveal the team’s schedule instead reveal wacky aspects of their lives. I’ll give this the dreaded “nice try” assessment.

Buffalo Bills — A fair amount of viewers will be able to figure out the joke that’s coming when Josh Allen tells general manager Brandon Beane to “just use AI” for a last-minute schedule release video. It is always nice, though, to hear from the hoops artist known as AI.

https://www.buffalobills.com/video/bills-schedule-release-video-featuring-allen-iverson-josh-allen-and-brandon-beane

Cleveland Browns — In contrast to the Bills, the Browns appeared to many viewers to have really used artificial intelligence to create a trippy video involving Brownie, their elf mascot. The visuals are somewhat arresting, for what it’s worth.

Detroit Lions — An homage to their hometown that uses drone footage to swoop around Ford Field and elsewhere in the Motor City. Nicely shot but not especially memorable.

Dallas Cowboys — Several Cowpokes, including CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, are shown horsing around at a golf course while signifiers of their opponents briefly pop up, including a suggestion that hot dogs served to the players are made from Commanders mascot Major Tuddy. The verdict here is that everyone who helped make this video had more fun than anyone watching it will.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Former coach Jon Gruden hams it up while examining a box’s contents that celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary and make references to this year’s opponents. At a run time of almost 11 minutes, this will test the patience of even some Bucs fans.

Meh

Miami Dolphins — An earnest effort that harks back a few years, before a little more outside-the-box thinking — and definitely more snark — became the order of the day for schedule release videos.

Philadelphia Eagles — The Super Bowl champs very much rested on their laurels with a video that simply showed off their Lombardi trophy, set to the familiar theme music from “2001: A Space Odyssey” (also known as “Also Sprach Zarathustra”). The team linked to a graphic showing its schedule in a separate post.

Deleted

Indianapolis Colts — After scrapping their original post, Indy went with a different concept based on the very two-dimensional look of Microsoft Paint. The Colts may have had second thoughts about the video, but of course the internet made sure it lives on, so here you go.