Stephen Colbert became a Madden NFL 19 player for the Super Bowl, chats with Conan and Steve Carell

Stephen Colbert followed Sunday's Super Bowl LIII with a special Late Show, and it was so special, he even got to try out professional football himself, kind of. "I love football," he said. "I've always wanted to play the game professionally, but my doctor says I can't because I have a medical condition known as mortality. But there is some football I'm healthy enough to participate in: the video game kind. And luckily, the good folks over at EA Sports agreed to make me a player in the new Madden NFL 19." Colbert had to go to the Jets practice field in New Jersey to determine his skill stats for the game, and after some petty humiliations and small triumphs, he found the right formula for Madden NLF success. Like the Jets, it was green.

Colbert also had Conan O'Brien, "the elder statesmen of late-night hosts," on to talk about the new iteration of his TBS show and what he's learned in life and 25 years in the business. O'Brien mostly talked about his body-image issues, his bizarre genealogy test, how he's rebelliously diluting his very Irish gene pool, and why he won't give up the jacket even in his new, more casual format.

Steve Carell also made an appearance on Sunday's show, though it appears to have been taped in December. Colbert and Carell have known each other since 1988 and worked together for years on various comedy shows — a background that was helpful when they stuck their heads into a small cardboard box. The idea was to foster intimacy, but there were still questions, like why Carell switched from comedy to drama. "All I want is to be respected and to be pretentious," he answered. "You're halfway there," Colbert replied. Watch below. Peter Weber

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