Micah Parson sounds off on Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning amid Texas' slow offensive start vs. Georgia

With the Texas offense struggling early against Georgia on Saturday night, Dallas Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons sounded off with a surely divisive thought: Maybe Arch Manning should be playing?

Parsons did not outright call for Ewers to be benched, but he certainly wasn’t shy in implying Manning could be the better option. Parsons alluded to the strong stretch of play from Manning when Ewers was injured.

“Can’t lie I know it’s hard to compare competition but Archie had this offense way more electrifying!! Man idk both good QBs!!” Parsons said on social media.

Manning played in four games in 2024 entering Saturday night, completing 70.5% of his passes for 901 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions, most of that production coming as the starter in lieu of an injured Ewers.

Ewers played in as many games entering Saturday, but had a bigger passing sample and completed a higher percentage of his passes, 72.2%. He’s entered with 890 yards and nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

But early against Georgia, Ewers struggled to find open receivers in time before getting swallowed up by the pass rush or needing to bail. Early in the second quarter, he threw an interception that set up a Georgia scoring drive and a 17-0 Bulldogs lead over Texas.

Then, as if to answer Parsons, the unexpected occured.

After a paltry offensive start against Georgia, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was quick to make the call: Benching Ewers and turning to Manning shortly before halftime.

The decision came as the Longhorns got into a first half hole, trailing 17-0 when Manning began to warm up. When he entered the game with around five minutes until halftime, Georgia had stretched the lead to 20-0.

At that point, Ewers was 6-for-12 passing for 17 yards and an interception. He also struggled to avoid the Georgia rush, and the Longhorns run game didn’t do much to aid the quarterback.

Manning’s first drive featured a first down gained via a facemask penalty, but the results for the sophomore weren’t much better than those of Ewers. The Georgia defensive front was still causing troubles and Manning went 1-for-4 for eight yards on the series, leading to a punt.