The hilarious reason why Cowboys weren't flexed off of next week's Monday Night Football matchup vs Bengals despite combined 9-15 record
When the 2024 NFL schedule came out back in May, no one batted an eye at the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals being slated to face off on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Dak Prescott vs. Joe Burrow playing in December football for teams likely headed to the playoffs sounded like a few quality hours […]
When the 2024 NFL schedule came out back in May, no one batted an eye at the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals being slated to face off on Monday Night Football in Week 13.
Dak Prescott vs. Joe Burrow playing in December football for teams likely headed to the playoffs sounded like a few quality hours of television. And yet, now just about every football fan is wondering why on Earth these two squads are even slated to face off on the week's primetime slot. They've got a combined 9-15 record, each team has one foot out the door as far as their playoff chances go and Cooper Rush is quarterbacking Dallas.
Well, it turns out there's a pretty hilarious reason why the game was never flexed.
According to NFL rules, Monday Night Football showdowns can be flexed from Week 12 to Week 17, as long as the league announces the change no later than 12 days before the game. Two weeks ago, we already knew the Cowboys and Bengals were significantly struggling.
Not that long ago, I made the argument the game should be flexed due to the team's losing records but it turns out, this particular matchup was never eligible to be flexed because of a hilarious reason: The Simpsons.
How 'The Simpsons' saved the Cowboys and Jerry Jones from being flexed off of MNF
You see, the NFL and ESPN are running a simulcast called "'The Simpsons Funday Football," which the league describes as " an animated Monday Night Football game transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony's Beyond Sports Technology. Atoms Stadium in Springfield will host the fully immersive fan viewing experience."
The production that has gone into it leading up to the game makes it impossible to change course as the game will feature plenty of pre-recorded and pre-produced content, such as players from both teams interacting with characters from the iconic TV series.
The players will show up as the Simpson characters on the field, including Bart leading the Bengals and Homer leading the Cowboys. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart (Bengals); while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe will be with Homer (Cowboys).
"Each Bengals and Cowboys player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special primetime matchup. Through state-of-the-art tracking technology enabled by NFL's Next Gen Stats, Sony's Beyond Sports, combined with Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations' optical tracking, fans enjoying The Simpsons Funday Football will see every snap, run, pass, score and more from the real-life Bengals and Cowboys matchup at AT&T Stadium as it happens.
– NFL Press Release
The league featured a similar game in a Toy Story setting last year and this will be the second installation of the "Funday Football" sequence.
So buckle up Cowboys Nation, and get ready to watch the Cowboys and the Bengals on primetime TV as Cooper Rush and Joe Burrow Homer and Bart Simpson lead their teams to battle.
