The NFL could be about to hit the Dallas Cowboys where it hurts the franchise the most
The NFL has a tremendous slate of games lined up for Week 11 of the 2024 regular season. It'll start with Thursday Night Football between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles on what could be a pivotal showdown for the NFC East.On Sunday, fans will be treated to AFC juggernaut showdowns featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers […]
The NFL has a tremendous slate of games lined up for Week 11 of the 2024 regular season. It'll start with Thursday Night Football between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles on what could be a pivotal showdown for the NFC East.
On Sunday, fans will be treated to AFC juggernaut showdowns featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens and later, it'll be Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen facing each other once again for another episode of an epic quarterback rivalry. On Sunday Night, it'll be the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to close out the day.
And to put a bow on the week… The 3-6, Cooper Rush-led Dallas Cowboys will face the 6-4 Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. This last one doesn't quite live up to the rest of the week, does it?
That's why I believe the league could be getting near to hitting America's Team where it hurts Jerry Jones' the most: Taking the Cowboys off of primetime slots, inching them closer to irrelevancy for the rest of the year.
Many fans have wondered why the game wasn't flexed out of the primetime slot just like the Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Jets, which was originally scheduled to be played Sunday night, was leading up to this week.
First of all, the answer is the league wasn't allowed to do so per its current scheduling rules. Monday night games can be flexed but only for Weeks 12-17. Additionally, even if they could've, the decision needs to happen 12 days in advance, and Dak Prescott's future wasn't as clear then. In other words, Dallas was saved by the bell on this one.
However, there are still two more primetime games the Cowboys could be taken off of before the season is over:
- Week 14: vs Cincinnati Bengals (Monday Night Football)
- Week 16: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday Night Football)
The above weeks include matchups that are likely to have playoff implications such as Falcons vs. Vikings, Seahawks vs. Cardinals (Week 14), and Eagles vs. Commanders, Lions vs. Bears, Broncos vs. Chargers, Vikings vs. Seahawks (Week 16). Considering the Cowboys will be led by Cooper Rush or maybe Trey Lance, the league should be considering flexing the Cowboys even if they're usually TV ratings monsters.
Per the league, this changes need to happen within the following timetables:
– For Monday Night Football in Weeks 12-17, the NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN) and announce no later than 12 days in advance of the game, which game will be played on Sunday night and which game will be played on Monday night.
– For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 14-17, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than 6 days prior to the game.
You never know with the Cowboys and Jones' influence in the league, but it's difficult to believe the league will leave their schedule untouched based on how things are going right now, particularly at quarterback. I'd expect at least one of these games to be flexed.
