The thing that made me audibly groan the loudest during Monday Night Football wasn’t the performances by Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, which sunk another week of fantasy football for me. It was Peyton Manning announcing that he and his brother Eli were taking next week off as a “bye” week. And that’s a bummer, even if I can understand why a game between the 4-3 Steelers and 3-5 Bears would make for a well-timed (if not conveniently timed) week off.
And yet, this stinks. At least, from a viewership perspective.
Not necessarily because I was thinking Peyton or Eli would break bad on the Bears, throw the organization under the bus, or publicly dunk on a franchise that has been victimized by Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in recent weeks. But instead, because honest insight from outsiders with fresh eyes would’ve been a nice change of pace. Big picture perspective from someone else would’ve been welcome on the scene.
I think what we’ll miss most here is Peyton’s perspective. The elder Manning brother has a history with the Bears. And, yes, it goes beyond toppling them in Super Bowl XLI. Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy had Manning as the mysterious guest QB speaker during OTAs in 2020. Manning also gave Mitchell Trubisky the time of day when the Bears were holding joint practices in Denver in 2018. Early in the 2020 season, Manning had plenty of nice things to say about Nagy and Trubisky. Manning also interviewed Bears matriarch Virginia Halas McCaskey for his ESPN+ “Peyton’s Places” series. In the end, I think someone with Manning’s quarterbacking résumé, appreciation for the NFL/the Bears, and background with Nagy could’ve brought some worthwhile commentary. It’s a shame he won’t get that chance.
Nevertheless, the auxiliary MNF broadcast featuring insights and commentary from the brothers Manning and their guests has been a highlight of the football season thus far. And I figure it will continue to be that moving forward. It has been a fun, light-hearted, and not-overly-serious take on football that shows a glimpse of what a future for play-by-play of games will look like down the line. Hence, my hope leading up to yesterday’s announcement that the Bears would get the ManningCast treatment.
I guess that leaves me no choice but to hold out hope for Week 15, when the Bears return to MNF when they play host to the Vikings.