There's no getting around the fact that the Dallas Cowboys are just not a good football team right now. And that's putting it nicely.
Already losers of four straight heading into a Monday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans, America's Team was embarrassed yet again, taking a 34-10 loss to drop to 3-7 on the season.
To make matters worse, the Cowboys fell behind the Carolina Panthers in the overall NFC standings. While the Panthers own the same 3-7 record, they actually win a tiebreaker due to having a better record in conference games.
Yeah, things are bad in Big D.
Given the state of this franchise, one would think the NFL would be ready to flex them out of yet another Monday-nighter they're set to play in just three weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals, who, like the Cowboys, have been a massive disappointment this season.
And the league does have the right to do that, as any MNF game from Weeks 12-17 can be flexed out at the NFL's discretion — except, apparently, for this one. Why is that, you might be asking? Well, it's actually because of The Simpsons. Yes, you read that correctly.
NFL can't flex the Cowboys-Bengals MNF game in Week 14 because of The Simpsons
When the league originally crafted the 2024 schedule, a Monday Night Football game between the Cowboys and Bengals in Week 14 obviously seemed like a great call, as both were expected to be genuine contenders in their respective divisions and conferences.
But with the Cowboys dropping to 3-7 after the embarrassing loss to Houston and the Bengals now sitting at 4-7 after a loss on Sunday Night Football to the Los Angeles Chargers, the season's essentially already over for both teams.
And yet, because ESPN and Disney have long been planning an alternate broadcast on December 9 involving The Simpsons, which stands as the longest-running animated series, sitcom, and scripted primetime television series in American history, the NFL is being forced to keep the Cowboys-Bengals game in place, as Sports Illustrated's Jay Morrison explained on Monday.
"For those asking, the Bengals-Cowboys MNF game is not eligible to be flexed out because of all the drawings, voiceovers, and other work that has been done for The Simpsons alt-cast that will air that night."
Well, that's a new one, isn't it?
For those wondering, other Week 14 matchups include Falcons-Vikings, Seahawks-Cardinals, Bills-Rams, and a few others that would be far better suited for that Monday night given the playoff implications that will likely be attached. But, nope, the NFL is sticking with Cowboys-Bengals.
D'oh!