ESPNNFLBy Sean Keeley on

ManningCast was back for Week 8’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants. While the game itself, won by the Bucs 30-10, wasn’t terribly exciting, Peyton and Eli made things interesting thanks to some special moments and insights from guests Bill Parcells, Kevin Hart, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and Julian Edelman.

While plenty of fun was had by all, let’s check out the five most pertinent highlights from the festivities.

Julian Edelman: Gronk & Brady Whisperer

This week’s broadcast saved the best for last as Julian Edelman arrived in the fourth quarter to bring some much-needed entertainment to a very boring football game. He started by dropping an interesting nugget about when Tom Brady tried to recruit him to play for Tampa Bay, an offer he not-so-politely declined.

Edelman’s highlight came in the game’s final moments as Rob Gronkowski and Brady were seen talking on the sideline and Edelman was asked to infer what his former Patriots teammates were discussing. Hilarity ensued.

Wherever Peyton Eats, We Will Find Him

Peyton has developed a weird habit of devouring large amounts of food relatively quickly during broadcasts. While he was able to evade eating directly on camera this week, that doesn’t mean he didn’t get caught.

Kevin Hart vs. Eli

Kevin Hart appeared in the second quarter and was let loose on the broadcast, sharing tales of playing football in Thailand and digging into the inner workings of the Eli Manning Face.

Kevin also made sure to dig the knife on Eli, who was not enjoying his evening as a Giants fan.

Perhaps the funniest part when the end of Kevin’s time on the ManningCast, which seemed to come as a surprise to Kevin as it was happening.

Rookie Peyton Would Have Made Bill Parcells Rethink Life

Bill Parcells stopped by in the first quarter and reminiscent about his years as a head coach in the NFL. Eli brought up that Parcells’ Jets would have been in a position to draft Peyton had he come out as a junior and he wondered how the coach would have handled the 28 interceptions that Peyton threw in his first season. Not well, apparently.

Kevin Hart Not Impressed By Big Man Dance

During Hart’s appearance, the Giants got a bright spot in the form of tackle Andrew Thomas catching a touchdown and then doing a celebration dance as only a Big Man Touchdown can be celebrated, Kevin was not impressed by any of it.

You can’t please everyone.

The ManningCast returns on December 6 when the Buffalo Bills take on the New England Patriots. Hopefully, they’ll get an active NFL player on that episode so that we can confirm if the ManningCast Curse is still in effect. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving, especially to Eli who doesn’t have to watch his brother eat this year.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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