The Atlanta Falcons opened their 2026 NFL season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday without one of their key players, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa had been named Atlanta’s starting quarterback for Week 1 after joining the Falcons during the offseason. The 28-year-old quarterback suffered an oblique injury during Thursday’s practice and was seen favoring his side after attempting a pass. He was limited for the remainder of the session, while Cooper Rush received additional first-team repetitions.
With little time for Tagovailoa to recover before the season opener, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski was forced to turn to Rush as the starting quarterback. However, an injury suffered late in the week forced a change in plans, and he was officially ruled out on Friday before being listed inactive for Sunday’s game at Acrisure Stadium.
The 32-year-old has made 16 starts across 42 career appearances and holds a 9-7 record as a starting quarterback. Penix, who started for the Falcons last season, is still recovering from the knee injury that brought his 2025 campaign to an end and was also listed inactive against Pittsburgh. Tagovailoa’s status beyond Week 1 is also unclear, while Penix could potentially reclaim the starting role once he recovers from his knee injury. Tagovailoa entered the offseason after a difficult 2025 campaign with Miami. he threw 15 interceptions in 14 games as the Dolphins finished 6-8 Although he completed 67.7% of his passes. However, Atlanta will still hope Tagovailoa’s absence remains limited to Week 1 as the team begins the season with its quarterback plans already disrupted.
He was later released by Miami and joined Atlanta during the offseason. Rush now has the chance to lead Atlanta in its first game under head coach Stefanski. Atlanta’s quarterback situation became even more challenging with Michael Penix Jr. also unavailable. The Falcons also did not see a consistently strong performance from Tagovailoa during the preseason, leaving the possibility open for Penix to return to the starting lineup once he is healthy.
