Eli Manning on his unexpected ESPN career and his viral Chad Powers tryout before calling Giants-Cowboys on ‘Monday Night Football’

It didn’t take long for Eli Manning to become a giant at ESPN.

The two-time Super Bowl winner continues to revolutionize sports TV with the “Manningcast,” an alternate telecast of “Monday Night Football” in which the former Giants quarterback and older brother Peyton Manning break down plays, tell stories and interview guests as they watch a game live.

Now in his second season, Eli Manning loves the informal nature of their show, which they shoot remotely from their homes. He’s especially excited to call this Monday’s game between the Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.

“I pretty much said I do not want to do broadcasting,” Manning told the Daily News. “I did not want to do games, and technically I don’t think I’m a broadcaster. I don’t know, I just kind of feel like I’m just sitting at home on my couch with my brother, talking football.

“It’s a more casual approach,” he said. “If I make a mistake, I know Peyton’s going to call me out before the media’s going to have an opportunity to call me out the next day, or on social media. That’s what we like. We’re not sensitive, and we can take criticism, but if you’re going to take criticism, you’d rather take it from your brother.”

The “Manningcast” airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+, while the traditional “Monday Night Football” broadcast airs on ESPN and ESPN+ with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling the same game.

The idea for a separate telecast hatched during the COVID-19 pandemic after both Mannings appeared on football broadcasts as guests.

“We basically took that idea and said, ‘We can make it much better,’ ” said Eli Manning, who retired from the NFL after the 2019 season.

The “Manningcast” quickly emerged as a smash hit, averaging well over a million viewers during its first season while earning praise as an innovative new choice for football fans. Guests included Tom Brady, LeBron James and Charles Barkley.

ESPN extended the broadcast through 2024 and introduced a similar alternate telecast of “Sunday Night Baseball” with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez.

The Mannings will call 10 games this season and embrace the challenge of finding ways to enhance each show.

“We definitely looked at last year and tried to look at what worked and what we can improve on,” Eli Manning said. “I think we’ve done a good job at that, just with, ‘Hey, how many guests do we want to have on? When’s the best time to have guests on? When do you have current players versus veteran players versus an actor, a comedian?’ Just trying to get the flow of things.”

Manning, 41, played each of his 16 seasons with the Giants, winning MVP of Super Bowls XLII and XLVI and setting franchise passing records with 57,023 yards and 366 touchdowns.

The “Manningcast” schedule included two Giants games last year — losses against the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Manning looks forward to analyzing the new-look Giants, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 under a new coaching staff.

“The good teams, they find a way to win the close games,” Manning said. “It’s not always pretty. It’s still a lot of new players and a new offense and a new scheme. I feel like the defense can learn a scheme faster than an offense. Offense, it can take four or five weeks into the season before you really can get into a rhythm.

“They’re finding ways to win as they get more comfortable with what’s going on, and I think that’s a great ability to have.”

The “Manningcast” is only a piece of Manning’s burgeoning sports TV career. He also hosts the ESPN+ college football show “Eli’s Places,” which takes him to different universities to explore what makes the sport so popular. Like the “Manningcast,” “Eli’s Places” is executive-produced by Omaha Productions, an entertainment company created by Peyton Manning.

The latest episode of “Eli’s Places” included a viral segment in which Manning disguised his appearance with a long wig and facial prosthetics and tried out for the Penn State football team as a walk-on quarterback named Chad Powers.

“I was like, ‘This can be pretty funny.’ They were asking, ‘Can you still throw?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I can still throw, I’m not gonna forget how to do that.’ Or, ‘Do you need to warm up and practice a few weeks beforehand?’ I’m like, ‘No, it’ll be there. It’ll come back,’ ” Manning said.

“I didn’t know I was going to have to run a 40, or do a 5-10-5 and broad jump and all these things. I’m saying, ‘Think fast, run fast,’ but I’m thinking, ‘Don’t pull a hammy. Don’t go all out on this.’ I still got to make it through the rest of the workout and do the throwing and do all the quarterback drills.”

Beyond ESPN, Manning hosts “The Eli Manning Show” for the Giants, interviewing fans and celebrities with connections to the team.

He’s enjoying his work as an on-camera personality and is open to adding to it.

“That’s keeping me pretty busy and entertained,” Manning said. “The more you do ... some of these projects, other opportunities might come up, so I think it’s just weighing those opportunities and seeing what else can be a fun project to get involved in.”