Monday Night Football is back tonight with Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers taking on the returning Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
Also returning tonight will be the ever-popular Manningcast with Peyton & Eli Manning. Since debuting during the 2021 season, the alternate broadcast found on ESPN2 has been wildly popular, delivering a unique experience combining the Peyton and Eli’s football expertise with top-notch guests. The broadcast even took home a Sports Emmy in 2022.
ESPN signed a long-term extension with Omaha Productions during the offseason which will keep the Mannings at the Worldwide Leader through at least 2034, so we’ll get to see Peyton and Eli on our televisions for a longtime to come. With that all in mind, Omaha Productions released the guest list for the Manningcast 2024 season debut.
Jets and 49ers will mark the Manningcast debut of former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who will appear during the first half in each Manningcast this season. It will be interesting to hear Belichick talk about the Jets, given his acrimonious relationship since scribbling on a sheet of paper “I resign as HC of NYJ” over 24 years ago.
We’ll also get to see Adam Sandler channel his inner Bobby Boucher as he joins the Mannings. We recently saw Peyton attempt the Happy Gilmore swing, so I’m sure that will come up at some point in the interview. But you can’t have Sandler show up and not talk about his turn in “The Waterboy.” Just don’t tell him water sucks or that Gatorade is better than H2O.
We should also get some interesting analysis on the defending NFC champion 49ers from one of their Super Bowl opponents, the Chiefs’ Chris Jones. Another interesting angle to explore would be Jones’ thoughts on Haason Reddick’s ongoing hold out with the Jets. Jones knows some of what Reddick is going through, as he held out of the Chiefs’ opener last season vs. the Lions. he agreed to a deal shortly after the loss and the Chiefs, of course, went on to another Super Bowl victory. Could the same be in the cards for the Jets? Stugotz might think so, but only time will tell.
The Manningcast can be seen tonight at 8:13 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The schedule for the remainder of the season is as follows:
Week 2 — Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN2)
Week 5 — New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN2)
Week 6 — Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (ESPN)
Week 7 — Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN2, ESPN+) & Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals (ESPN+)
Week 8 — New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN2, ESPN+)
Week 9 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN2, ESPN+)
Week 11 — Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys (ESPN2)
Week 12: Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers (ESPN2)
Week 14 — Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys (ESPN2, ESPN+)
Wild Card Weekend — TBD
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
