It’s no stranger to anyone that the NFL is constantly trying out new ventures, wanting to expand their game and influence other fanbases. This week’s Monday Night Football was definitely one of these instances. It featured the 4-8 Cincinnati Bengals, traveling to Jerry’s World to take on the 5-7 Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, these teams were not the goliath juggernauts that were dominating the regular seasons a year or three ago. Rather, we see the Bengals being led by a supposed MVP Candidate in Joe Burrow having to deal with his defense crapping the bed every week. The Cowboys have been falling like pieces of the roof falling down ever since Dak Prescott got injured for the year. Most viewers wouldn’t tune into this game due to these teams not being the best of the best like in previous years. Instead, they may have tuned into a new broadcast, a Simpsons Version of the played game featured on ESPN and Disney+, so kids can see how defenses aren’t necessarily needed within the NFL these days!

The main premise of the game was Bart Simpson leading the Bengals against his father, Homer Simpson, and his newly owned Dallas Cowboys. On the actual field, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase gashed the Cowboys enough to escape with a 27-20 victory, ending a brutal three-game losing streak to teams in Ravens, Chargers, and Steelers. What was going on in the Springfield Atoms Stadium you may say?

Before the Game

• Turns out that Homer Simpson falls asleep on the couch and ends up dreaming the entirety of the game. Stephen A Smith reports on this, saying that Homer’s “Nitrate Soaked Brain” has him playing against his son
• Lisa Simpson gives a speech in the Bengals Locker Room, and gives a quote from Vince Lombardi to motivate the Bengals
• Moe Szyslak gives a speech on the Cowboys Locker Room, and wants them to approach the game like a person fighting a pigeon for a french fry

1st Quarter

• Homer Simpson throws a 11 yard TD pass on 4th And 1 To Ceedee Lamb, Maybe he should be the starting quarterback for the Cowboys…
• Joe Burrow is taken out of the game in favor of Bart Simpson, completes a pass to Lisa Simpson (Tee Higgins), then scores a 55-yard touchdown to Ralph Wiggum (Ja’Marr Chase). QB Controversy in Cincinnati?

2nd Quarter

• The unusual trio of Cam-Taylor Britt, Geno Stone, and Bart Simpson playing in the secondary, Cooper Rush throws a pick to CTB
• On 4th and 3, Joe Burrow’s pass to Chase Brown was incomplete, broken up by…Moe Szyslak playing Linebacker
• Lenny Leonard holds the ball for Carl Carlson to kick a 35 Yard Field Goal, Cowboys
• Joe Burrow completes a 19-yard Pass to Lisa Simpson (Chase Brown). Her making sweet music as a Sax player allows her to get a Touchdown
• Krusty the Clown (Cade York), filling in for the injured Evan McPhearson, nails a 37 Yard Field Goal

3rd Quarter

• Barney Gumble (Rico Dowdle), gets a 27 Yard rushing gain, and everyone gets rewarded free Duff Beer for everyone as a result
• Homer Simpson connects with Brandon Cooks for a 3 Yard Touchdown and has been playing better than any of Dallas’s QBs
• Bart Simpson (Joe Burrow),  throws an Interception to his own dad Homer (Malik Hooker) 

4th Quarter

• Joe Burrow, instead of using a normal football, throws the Spiderpig to Mike Gesicki for 13 Yards
• Krusty the Clown once again makes a 29 Yard field goal for the Bengals once again
• Milhouse (Chase Brown), comes into the Game to catch a pass from Bart Simpson (Joe Burrow). True to the canon, he unsurprisingly fumbles the ball to the Cowboys, but it’s ruled down beforehand.
• After the failed punt block, Bart Simpson (Joe Burrow), connects with Lisa Simpson (Ja’Marr Chase), to ice the game with a 40 Yard Touchdown, ending the game.

Other Events:

• The duo of Mr.Burns and Jerry Jones were seen in a skybox throughout the game
• Bart was constantly prank-calling Moe throughout the game, one of his lines being “Yeah looking for Mr.Schwarmer? First name Ben.” Supposed to mean Benchwarmer.
• Maggie Simpson was on top of the skyline cam throughout the game, being renamed the Maggie Cam
• Every Time there was any turnover, such as the Cowboys messing up a blocked punt, it cuts to Homer looking at actual Apple Turnovers.
• In real life, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase pied each other with the classic pink Springfield Donuts

Overall

The game was another representation of the NFL collaborating with famous IPs to bring animation tracking into their football games. It was seen last season in the Toy Story London Game, between the Falcons and Jaguars. It was also featured in the Chiefs V 49ers Super Bowl rematch, with characters from Spongebob calling the game. Like those before, The Simpsons broadcast brought a new coat of life into a game between two struggling teams that made watching it somewhat enjoyable. While there were some technical difficulties, overall the game succeeded in what the NFL was trying to plan, establishing their product to IPs so they could bring fans from the series to watch their game. Unless you were a Cowboys fan, it still was certainly a really fun alternative to the traditional broadcast, in a method that the NFL will definitely be implementing even more down the line.