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The Chicago Bears' 2025 schedule is out, and as expected, the team got creative with the announcement. Schedule release day for NFL teams is a chance for their marketing departments to flex their muscles to deliver the news in a fun and creative manner.
After years of lackluster announcements, the Bears have stepped up their game over the last couple of times, leaning into Chicago-related shows and movies. This time, they utilized a few notable Chicago actors, such as Lamorne Morris and Jake Johnson, best known for their roles on "New Girl," while working with current and former players to handle a schedule-related snafu.
Did the Bears get the job done, or did this year's reveal miss the mark? Here is our annual review of the team's schedule release video:
The Bears hired Morris as their new employee, who is tasked with delivering the schedule to head coach Ben Johnson, who happens to be away serving up breaking balls at Wrigley Field. Johnson asks Morris to email him the schedule, but the actor accidentally sends it to every Ben Johnson in the Bears database.
With help from Bears players Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, Cairo Santos, Grady Jarrett, TJ Edwards, former players Charles Tillman and Anthony "Spice" Adams, and Chicago actors Johnson and Ed O'Neill, Morris attempts to find every single Ben Johnson to delete the schedule by any means necessary. The interactions that take place include Williams and Odunze bartering with an 11-year-old, Jarrett sacking a teacher, TJ Edwards dropping a phone in soup, and Adams stealing a laptop.
The Bears' Ben Johnson eventually returns to Halas Hall and gets the schedule from Morris but arrives at his office to see the 11-year-old Ben Johnson sitting in his chair.
This year's reveal was enjoyable, with a relatable premise that many working individuals can relate to that was executed well. Who hasn't accidentally sent an email to the wrong person at work? The Bears' marketing team smartly pivoted from focusing on players only, like they did in 2024, and instead relied on actors like Morris and Jake Johnson, who already have strong chemistry from their days working on "New Girl." It also helps that Ben Johnson himself has plenty of charisma and bookended the video well.
As usual, the player cameos were hit or miss. Moore and Kmet are phenomenal on the field, but they struggle as actors. Thankfully, Morris carried them. His and Jake Johnson's back-and-forth about the family reunion was the highlight of the video, and pairing them together was genius. Centering the entire premise around those two might have made for a better video, but some is better than none.
Williams and Odunze's interaction with the 11-year-old Ben Johnson was entertaining, and it looks like that scene took place at Payton's Hill, which is a nice touch. Getting Jarrett in the mix just two months after he signed was fun to see, but there was a major missed opportunity when Tillman got handed a phone to take a picture with instead of him punching it out of someone's hand. It's the perfect spot for a "peanut punch," and it didn't happen.
If there is one major gripe, however, it's that there were no mentions of any matchups in a video that's supposed to reveal the schedule. You had to wait until the very end to see the games. Sure, most people had 90% of the schedule figured out by the time the video dropped, but seeing how teams roast their opponents is part of the fun.
Are the Bears ever going to rival a team like the Los Angeles Chargers when it comes to their schedule release? Probably not, but that doesn't mean they haven't raised the bar considerably. This year's video was solid and met expectations for what social media teams should be producing across the league.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears search for Ben Johnson in 2025 schedule release video
Continue reading...
After years of lackluster announcements, the Bears have stepped up their game over the last couple of times, leaning into Chicago-related shows and movies. This time, they utilized a few notable Chicago actors, such as Lamorne Morris and Jake Johnson, best known for their roles on "New Girl," while working with current and former players to handle a schedule-related snafu.
Did the Bears get the job done, or did this year's reveal miss the mark? Here is our annual review of the team's schedule release video:
The premise
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The Bears hired Morris as their new employee, who is tasked with delivering the schedule to head coach Ben Johnson, who happens to be away serving up breaking balls at Wrigley Field. Johnson asks Morris to email him the schedule, but the actor accidentally sends it to every Ben Johnson in the Bears database.
With help from Bears players Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, Cairo Santos, Grady Jarrett, TJ Edwards, former players Charles Tillman and Anthony "Spice" Adams, and Chicago actors Johnson and Ed O'Neill, Morris attempts to find every single Ben Johnson to delete the schedule by any means necessary. The interactions that take place include Williams and Odunze bartering with an 11-year-old, Jarrett sacking a teacher, TJ Edwards dropping a phone in soup, and Adams stealing a laptop.
The Bears' Ben Johnson eventually returns to Halas Hall and gets the schedule from Morris but arrives at his office to see the 11-year-old Ben Johnson sitting in his chair.
The review
You must be registered for see images attach
This year's reveal was enjoyable, with a relatable premise that many working individuals can relate to that was executed well. Who hasn't accidentally sent an email to the wrong person at work? The Bears' marketing team smartly pivoted from focusing on players only, like they did in 2024, and instead relied on actors like Morris and Jake Johnson, who already have strong chemistry from their days working on "New Girl." It also helps that Ben Johnson himself has plenty of charisma and bookended the video well.
As usual, the player cameos were hit or miss. Moore and Kmet are phenomenal on the field, but they struggle as actors. Thankfully, Morris carried them. His and Jake Johnson's back-and-forth about the family reunion was the highlight of the video, and pairing them together was genius. Centering the entire premise around those two might have made for a better video, but some is better than none.
Williams and Odunze's interaction with the 11-year-old Ben Johnson was entertaining, and it looks like that scene took place at Payton's Hill, which is a nice touch. Getting Jarrett in the mix just two months after he signed was fun to see, but there was a major missed opportunity when Tillman got handed a phone to take a picture with instead of him punching it out of someone's hand. It's the perfect spot for a "peanut punch," and it didn't happen.
If there is one major gripe, however, it's that there were no mentions of any matchups in a video that's supposed to reveal the schedule. You had to wait until the very end to see the games. Sure, most people had 90% of the schedule figured out by the time the video dropped, but seeing how teams roast their opponents is part of the fun.
Are the Bears ever going to rival a team like the Los Angeles Chargers when it comes to their schedule release? Probably not, but that doesn't mean they haven't raised the bar considerably. This year's video was solid and met expectations for what social media teams should be producing across the league.
Final grade: B+
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears search for Ben Johnson in 2025 schedule release video
Continue reading...
