The Week 14 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, at least on paper, looked like it would be an excellent late-season matchup when the season started. That is why it was selected for “Monday Night Football.” With both teams’ seasons looking like lost causes, however, it stands to reason that ESPN might want a different matchup now.
Unfortunately for the network, that is not going to happen. Amid talk of the Bengals-Cowboys game being flexed out of primetime, Jay Morrison of SI reported Monday that the game is not eligible to be flexed. This is due to ESPN and Disney using it as a platform for a special broadcast involving characters from “The Simpsons,” which is already too far into production to be pivoted to a different game.
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.
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) November 18, 2024
ESPN released details about the telecast in late October, and it will involve Simpsons characters taking part in the game thanks to state-of-the-art technology. Broadcasts like this have become more popular in recent years and have provided plenty of viral moments on social media.
The Cowboys were 3-4 and the Bengals 3-5 when this broadcast was announced, so there was always the risk of this. Things have not gotten much better since, as Dallas is now 3-6, while the Bengals fell to 4-7 with a crushing loss on Sunday. The relevant parties probably thought this was a pretty safe game to use for a Simpsons cross-promotion, but ultimately, it might be a bit of a stinker.
