While Joe Buck and Troy Aikman handled ESPN’s main coverage of a Monday Night Football showdown between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, former quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning called an alternate broadcast of the game on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Monday marked the first time Peyton Manning has called a Broncos game, and it was easy to see that he still feels closely connected to the team that he won Super Bowl 50 with following the 2015 season.
Late in the game, Denver was trailing 17-16 with about a minute left near midfield. Instead of taking a timeout early and setting up quarterback Russell Wilson up with a fourth-and-five, coach Nathaniel Hackett opted to let the clock run down and then attempt a 64-yard field goal.
Here’s how Manning reacted in real time:
Peyton was all of us pic.twitter.com/X99gjHN00B
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) September 13, 2022
Most Broncos fans felt the same way. It was a questionable decision from Hackett. Brandon McManus had the distance on his attempt but it hooked left and the Broncos lost by one point in their season opener.
Manning stood up to watch the field goal attempt.
Peyton, Eli and Shannon Sharpe react to the ending of Broncos-Seahawks. pic.twitter.com/upubzUzLQq
— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2022
Maybe the Broncos should consider hiring Peyton as a consultant. He’s certainly invested in the team.
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