Peyton Manning gets A+ for his first Monday Night Football broadcast

For 18 years, Tennessee football fans had something to look forward to regardless of what the Vols did on Saturday or their favorite NFL team did on Sunday. They always had another favorite NFL team, the one Peyton Manning was playing on at the time.

Well, five years later, they can’t root for Manning on the field anymore, but they have something new to look forward to once again. He proved in the booth during Monday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens that he can be a success on the mic.

Eli and Peyton Manning debuted their own Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN2 during the game. This will take place throughout the rest of the season while the main broadcast is still held on ESPN. In many ways, it’s more fun than the game. You can see some of the highlights here.

Both Mannings did a great job breaking down the plays, and Peyton was himself again, noticing the coverages before the snap happened. Their humor was also a lot of fun, as the guests they brought in added value to the game.

Charles Barkley, Ray Lewis and Russell Wilson were all among the guests. Manning’s call for the Raiders to go 6-11 based on their first play of the game is one to document as well, although the Raiders did win that game in an overtime thriller.

Of course, if there’s one flaw, it’s that the two brothers have to work on their chemistry. Eli wasn’t bad, but to nobody’s surprise, Peyton was the one dominating the night on the mic. Sure, Peyton’s better and funnier, but they’ve got to feed off each other better.

What really stood out was how calm they were when the game ended. Peyton Manning looked frustrated at all the quarterback mistakes, but they were all a bit dumbfounded by the busted coverage at the end of the game. Wilson was on the broadcast by that point. Still, overall, it was highly entertaining and will make MNF that much better throughout the year.