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05/14 20:44 CDT Halo Infinite jabs, a Simpsons gag and a haircut: How NFL teams
dropped 2026 schedule dates
Halo Infinite jabs, a Simpsons gag and a haircut: How NFL teams dropped 2026
schedule dates
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Pro Football Writer
NFL teams tapped into their creativity Thursday night while rolling out a
variety of takes revealing their schedules for this season with a mixture of
art, video games, movie references and yes, even "The Simpsons."
They also made sure to poke plenty of fun at upcoming opponents, themselves and
offseason flubs.
The Indianapolis Colts pointed the finger at themselves in their Simpsons'
cartoon. First, they referenced the long drought since their last win in
Jacksonville along with Homer Simpson disappearing into the hedge for the
team's road game against the Jaguars.
The video also had Bart Simpson writing repeatedly on the chalkboard: "We will
not include Tyreek Hill in these videos."
The New York Jets went with a " football is ART (craft blend)" approach mixing
uniquely named daubs of paint colors to mix and draw out their opponents by the
date.
Their season opener against the Titans features colors "Dolly Denim" and
"Bachelorette Blush" for a team in a town known for Dolly Parton and
bachelorette parties. Playing the Dolphins uses spray tan, del boca vista,
major key and finkle --- a reference to the Ray Finkle character in the 1994
movie "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" --- and raspberry beret and minnetonka blue
for the Vikings.
New Orleans used a "season forecast" approach that included people such Jim
Cantore from The Weather Channel. The Los Angeles Rams tapped the movie
"Napoleon Dynamite" for "A Dynamite schedule" reveal.
The Buccaneers went with a nod to the TV show "Baywatch" protecting Tampa Bay,
while Las Vegas used Kirk Cousins and rookie Fernando Mendoza in the Raiders'
take on the 2008 movie "Step Brothers."
Pittsburgh went long with a video lasting more than 4 minutes, 36 seconds that
leaned into local style, customs, food and "Pittsburghese" with "Ready to
yinzify your DNA, n'at?" Actor Billy Gardell, a Pittsburgh native, walks a new
security guard through it all with the schedule buried at the end.
Video game style The Los Angeles Chargers went even longer using Halo Infinite for a reveal video lasting 6:12 and they opened with a post asking if they should make their schedule release video with the game spelling out "NO" with the words "yes." The Chargers reminded Baltimore of the Ravens backing out of their trade with the Raiders for Maxx Crosby. They also made an apparent reference to Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's offseason in the headlines with a mention of "Next Photo Dump 1 Mile."
Smells like a champion The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks had actor Josh Lucas introducing the schedule in the form of a cologne commercial, with opponents having their own signature scents such as "Substation" for the San Francisco 49ers.
Short but sweet Jacksonville took advantage of perhaps the most famous offseason haircut with quarterback Trevor Lawrence getting his long locks cut short on camera after introducing the Jaguars' schedule that then plays out on the screen edited down to less than 2 minutes.
Fan assistance The Tennessee Titans went back to the streets quizzing random people in their schedule reveal in a twist to the team's 2023 schedule reveal. This time, the Titans went with "You never know who you'll see on the street" set to the Who song "Who Are You" asking random people if they were a big name with a specific opponent.
Artistic reveal tease The Atlanta Falcons tapped the approach used by the social media account (at)ArtButMakeItSports to preview their schedule release. The Falcons had a thread Thursday morning using "Art but make it our 2026 opponents" featuring paintings for each team. For the actual release, Atlanta went with a Falcons style "This is SportsCenter" series of commercials. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Video game style The Los Angeles Chargers went even longer using Halo Infinite for a reveal video lasting 6:12 and they opened with a post asking if they should make their schedule release video with the game spelling out "NO" with the words "yes." The Chargers reminded Baltimore of the Ravens backing out of their trade with the Raiders for Maxx Crosby. They also made an apparent reference to Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's offseason in the headlines with a mention of "Next Photo Dump 1 Mile."
Smells like a champion The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks had actor Josh Lucas introducing the schedule in the form of a cologne commercial, with opponents having their own signature scents such as "Substation" for the San Francisco 49ers.
Short but sweet Jacksonville took advantage of perhaps the most famous offseason haircut with quarterback Trevor Lawrence getting his long locks cut short on camera after introducing the Jaguars' schedule that then plays out on the screen edited down to less than 2 minutes.
Fan assistance The Tennessee Titans went back to the streets quizzing random people in their schedule reveal in a twist to the team's 2023 schedule reveal. This time, the Titans went with "You never know who you'll see on the street" set to the Who song "Who Are You" asking random people if they were a big name with a specific opponent.
Artistic reveal tease The Atlanta Falcons tapped the approach used by the social media account (at)ArtButMakeItSports to preview their schedule release. The Falcons had a thread Thursday morning using "Art but make it our 2026 opponents" featuring paintings for each team. For the actual release, Atlanta went with a Falcons style "This is SportsCenter" series of commercials. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
