Peyton Manning stops by 'SNL' to profess love for ‘Emily in Paris,' compare it to NFL

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Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live"’s Weekend Update segment this Saturday, ostensibly to talk about the league's postseason games.

But the two-time Super Bowl champion had other ideas: He wanted to profess his love for the Netflix comedy "Emily in Paris."

Manning explained he planned to watch last weekend's games but he had an hour to kill before the first one started, so "just for fun" he decided to check out the Lily Collins-led show. 

"And I watched the entire season straight through," he told Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost. "Oh my god, Colin, this show has everything! Romance, adventure, sensuality, culture and a fresh take on feminism – finally! Not to mention a culinary tapestry so rich I can only describe it as food porn."

Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning looks on during a ceremony to reveal his name on the stadium Ring of Fame at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Oct. 31, 2021. (Getty Images)

And while he dismissed rumors that NFL legend Tom Brady might be retiring, he said if it were him he would leave the game because "It would give me more time to watch ‘Emily in Paris.’" 

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"Saturday Night Live" Weekend Update co-anchors Colin Jost, left, and Michael Che are seen May 19, 2018. (Getty Images)

He then compared Brady’s difficult decision to the troubles Emily apparently experiences in balancing her fashion career and love life in the City of Lights, explaining the heroine’s struggles to have it all using a football analogy. 

Lily Collins, left, and Samuel Arnold are seen in an episode of "Emily in Paris." (Netflix) 

"Sure, it feels like a broken play," Manning told Jost after marking out Emily's love life in Xs and Os as a football play, "but emotionally she’s making forward progress."

Manning then said, "You know what’s not sitting on the sidelines? The fashion!" before he donned a red beret and avowed that "watching football was the safe thing to do, that’s what everyone expected me to do. If I’ve learned anything from Emily, it’s to follow my passions and always be true to myself."

He admitted that he doesn’t speak French, but thanks to "Emily in Paris" he now speaks "love." 

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Manning isn’t a novice to comedy or to "Saturday Night Live." The Hall-of-Famer – who played college football at Tennessee and then played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos – hosted the show in 2007, appearing in a now-classic sketch called "United Way" in which the quarterback took time out of his busy NFL schedule to hit kids in the head with a football while playing a friendly game, teach them how to steal cars and give them tattoos.