Why can't NFL flex Bengals-Cowboys MNF game? Bizarre reason explained by insider

With Week 11 in the books, the playoff picture for the 2024 NFL season has gotten clearer. Few teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack at the top and are playing like legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

Others, like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants are likely thinking about the future more than the current campaign. Those sitting between the top teams and the ones at the bottom also have a hierarchy, with some likely to be in the postseason and others barely in the playoff picture.

The 4-7 Cincinnati Bengals and the 3-6 Dallas Cowboys are in the latter group and are scheduled to face off on Monday Night Football in Week 14. Fans are only interested in watching primetime games with playoff implications or a grudge matchup between rivals this late in the season.

With this game being neither, there have been demands to flex it out of its position for a more important fixture like the Detroit Lions taking on the Green Bay Packers or the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Seahawks. However, NFL insider Jay Morrison revealed why that won't be possible, explaining on X:

"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."

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Cowboys vs. Bengals to have 'The Simpsons' alternate broadcast

On Oct. 28, the Walt Disney Company made the following announcement via a press release:

"ESPN, Disney, The Simpsons, and the National Football League will premiere The Simpsons Funday Football on Monday, December 9, an animated Monday Night Football game transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology."

'The Simpson Funday Football' will air on Disney+, ESPN+ and NFL+ and will feature the Bengals and Cowboys players as characters from The Simpsons.

Dak Prescott was scheduled to feature as the show's main character, Homer Simpson, in the alternate broadcast. However, with the quarterback out for the season with a hamstring injury, Cooper Rush will play as The Simpsons' lead, while Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will feature as Bart Simpson.

The alternate broadcast will feature a fully animated game but will show the same plays that take place in the Bengals and Cowboys' battle at AT&T Stadium. Explaining how it'd happen, Disney said:

"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."

Disney has been working hard to make the broadcast possible, making it impossible for the NFL to flex the game out of its Monday Night Football slot.