The NFL season is just days away, and CFB is already rolling. Yet, most of the buzz has been about Arch Manning’s rough debut as a full-time starter for the Texas Longhorns and Shedeur Sanders wrapping up the preseason with an abysmal outing for the Cleveland Browns.
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Manning opened the game for No. 1 Texas against defending champs Ohio State with an incomplete pass. The hate started pouring in right away. He finished with one touchdown, one pick, and a 14-7 loss.
After the game, he even admitted that the performance was “ultimately not good enough.” But that didn’t stop the criticism. Fans probably expected the football royalty to torch the Buckeyes with six-plus scores. Meanwhile, Sanders had his own nightmare outing.
He was sacked five times on 11 dropbacks, losing 41 yards in the process. Sure, you can argue about playing time, opportunities, or the help he got from the offense. But the haters aren’t trying to hear that.
At the end of the day, it was just one game for both Sanders and Manning, but the hate has been relentless. That’s why former Cowboy Dez Bryant stepped in with some blunt words.
Hopping on X, Bryant told the haters to take a chill pill and let Shedeur and Manning‘s play speak for itself. Judging them off one game, he said, is flat-out unfair.
“I feel bad for Shedeur Sanders and Arch Manning… All I see down my timeline is hate for each player… These dudes wanna play football… Allow their play to determine if they are good or not… One game doesn’t define either QB,” the former wideout penned.
Bryant also backed both QBs, saying, “Both guys have what it takes to be great.”
I feel bad for Shedeur Sanders and Arch Manning…All I see down my timeline is hate for each player.. These dudes wanna play football…Allow their play to determine if they are good or not…One game doesn’t define either QB… Both guys have what it takes to be great…I also…
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) August 31, 2025
Manning, on his part, has taken the loss with humility. The Heisman hopeful knows starting the season 0-1 isn’t ideal. “Obviously, you don’t want to start off the season going 0-1. They’re a good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot. That starts with me. I’ve got to play better for us to win,” he said.
Manning’s head coach, Steve Sarkisian, though, backed him up, saying he saw flashes in the young QB that were promising enough. “We saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he’s going to become here,” said the coach.
Manning and the Longhorns will face the 63rd-ranked San Jose State Spartans next week.
Shedeur, meanwhile, has a long road ahead. With veteran Joe Flacco locked in as the starter, Dillon Gabriel sitting at QB2, and Deshaun Watson still hoping for a comeback, his future in Cleveland is up in the air.
Still, Sanders’ NFL journey is far from over. It’ll just take time and some real results on the field before he can grab that QB1 job.
