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Five Sketches We’d Like To See When Eli Manning Hosts SNL

As Saturday Night Live’s 37th season draws to a close, the show has tapped Giants quarterback and recent Super Bowl winner Eli Manning to host on May 5th. Unfortunately, poor Eli is still going to have to fight to escape his older brother’s shadow even when he’s trying his hand at sketch comedy (Peyton Manning hosted the show in 2007 to rave reviews). Here are a few sketches we’d like to see from Manning the Younger that might have a shot at topping his brother’s performance:

1. On “Getting Freaky With Cee-Lo Green,” Cee-Lo counsels Manning and Kate McKinnon, playing a married couple, on how to spice up their marriage with a Cinco De Mayo/space aliens-themed date night. This one’s in here mostly because I’d like to see more of newcomer Kate McKinnon, and Kenan Thompson’s Cee-Lo Green is one of my favorite recurring impressions, but also because I think Eli could use a liiiittle help in the Getting Freaky department (sorry).

2. Eli Manning is secret besties with Tim Tebow (Taran Killam), and offers some advice on ways to improve his quarterback game in the wake of his move to the Jets, when Jesus (Jason Sudeikis) suddenly shows up, furious that Tebow is seeking guidance from somebody else.

3. Peyton Manning shows up to steal his brother’s thunder during his opening monologue (actually, given how often the show opts to have the host interrupted during his or her monologue, I think this is highly likely).

4. On The Miley Cyrus Show, Miley shows us how to make gluten-free pot brownies with boyfriend Liam Hemsworth (played by Manning).

5. Manning is taping his clip for the Giants’ introduction into the Super Bowl (á la Taylor Lautner’s “Football Taping” sketch from last year, and Sofia Vergara and Fred Armisen’s local news promo sketch), but keeps suffering from crippling attacks of Manning Face and messing up the takes.

Manning has big shoes to fill, but he did win the Super Bowl twice. He may be able to catch up to his older brother in this regard, too. We’ll be watching to see how he does on May 5th, but in the meantime you can see Peyton Manning’s “United Way” Digital Short below, via Hulu: