The NFL schedule has been released. That means the snark can begin.:
The league’s 32 teams all have social media teams working toward this day, trying to one-up each other on creative ways to announce their opponents. In many ways, the event is their Super Bowl, with teams planning the release well in advance.
Here are some of the standout submissions from this year’s batch:
GOOD JULES HUNTING
The New England Patriots dropped an impressive and entertaining 3-minute, 46-second video that was the trailer for a fictional movie called “Good Jules Hunting” which was a play off the classic 1997 movie “Good Will Hunting” that featured Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Former Patriots Julian Edelman played Damon’s part, but instead of a math genius, Edelman is portrayed as a scheduling genius, predicting New England’s schedule before it was released. Another former Patriots star, tight end Rob Gronkowski, plays the role of Affleck.
HARBAUGHS TEAM UP
The Baltimore Ravens released another long video — this one 3 minutes, 54 seconds — featuring comedian Stavros Halkias, who is asked by coach John Harbaugh to deliver an important message now that the schedule has been released.
Halkias has a few pit stops on the way to the airport while partying with Ravens’ fans, but eventually makes his way to Los Angeles, where he races to the Chargers’ practice facility to meet with the team’s new coach Jim Harbaugh, John’s brother.
Turns out the Ravens will visit the Chargers on Nov. 25 for a brother-on-brother matchup.
“Listen, he said you better have 53 place settings at the dinner table when the Ravens come to play,” Halkais said.
“Duly noted,” Jim Harbaugh says with a smile. “Tell him I said hello.”
ART, BUT MAKE IT A SCHEDULE
The Indianapolis Colts had a more high-brow approach to their schedule release, employing some outside help from the social media account @ArtButSports, which has become popular for comparing sports pictures to classic works of art.
RED STALLION GIRL
The Tennessee Titans got some help for a second straight year from the so-called “Red Stallion Girl,” who helped their 2023 schedule release go viral with her hilarious responses when trying to identify logos.
This time around, she hosted the video, interviewing fans in downtown Nashville. It’s a worthy sequel, with more funny responses that produced another hit on social media.
BROWNS GO BOWLING
Sticking with the movie theme, the Browns channeled the 1998 film “The Big Lebowski,” starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Julianne Moore.
Many of The Big Lebowski’s most iconic scenes happen in a bowling alley and that’s where the most of the Browns’ video is filmed, featuring several star players as they go through the schedule, poking fun at their upcoming opponents. There’s even a late cameo by PBA legend Pete Weber.
CHARGERS CHANNEL “THE SIMS”
The Los Angeles Chargers are well-known for their schedule release videos and they dropped another banger on Wednesday, using the popular video game franchise “The Sims” as a vehicle to introduce their slate.
The video had nearly 20,000 likes on X, formerly known as Twitter, less than a hour after it was released.
The Atlanta Falcons also went the video game route, using an “NFL Street” theme.
BUELLER? BUELLER?
The Chicago Bears had a popular schedule release that was heavy on movie references from the 1980s, particularly the 1986 classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” featuring Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck.
ALLEN CHANNELS DWYER
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen does a pretty darn good impression of Andy Dwyer, the lovable but sometimes dim-witted from the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” played by Chris Pratt.
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