Top 5 Tuesday: Most disappointing finales to great careers

Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant are going out with a whimper, but are they having the worst finales ever?

Peyton Manning’s atrocious performance Sunday agianst the Chiefs was as surprising as it was upsetting. It was alarming to see Manning post a 0.0 quarterback rating, but he isn’t the first guy to have an unceremonious and depressing end to a legendary run. Let’s take a look at the five most disappointing conclusions.

5. Peyton Manning

That Manning was able to play at all after his 2011 neck surgery is something of a miracle. That he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns two years later is utterly ridiculous. He’s struggling this year, though, and looked really, really horrible against the Chiefs on Sunday. Playing through rib and foot injuries, he threw nearly as many interceptions (four) as completed passes (five).

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHWfpKQW-M]

He won’t play this week, ceding control to Brock Osweiler, so maybe he’ll rebound after some rest.

• Brett Favre took a break from hunting to congratulate Peyton Manning

4. Kobe Bryant

Because he’s certifiably insane, this may not be Kobe’s last season. Still, watching him indiscriminately hoist shot after shot is both disconcerting and bewildering. The thing is, even Kobe knows he’s washed up.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ie6vD9x-WI]

3. Derek Jeter

In 2012, before Jeter broke his ankle, he lead the majors with 216 hits. But the lingering effects of the ankle injury limited him to just 17 games (and a .190 batting average) in 2013. When it came time for his farewell tour in 2014, he had easily the worst season of his career: a .256 batting average, a .617 OPS and an OPS+ of 76, all the worst of his career by far. Oh, and the defense. 

It was basically a whole lot of this:

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA_u5fVn7AA​]

2. Brett Favre

Brett Favre had a few ends to his career, but it was a brutal hit on a cold night in Minnesota that knocked him out of the NFL for good. 

One week after Favre missed his first career start due to a sprained shoulder, he returned to the field in a largely meaningless game. The Vikings were 5–8, essentially eliminated from playoff contention. The game against the Bears had to be moved to the University of Minnesota because the roof at the Metrodome collapsed. In the second quarter, Favre was driven to the turf and concussed. He never played again.

1. The Sopranos finale

Yo, seriously?