All offseason, we resisted the prevailing narrative that the Atlanta Falcons were screwed this year on account of their quarterback situation. We argued it was impossible to know how Tua Tagovailoa would respond to having a new head coach and new supporting cast members. It took just one quarter of one preseason game for most of the air to get taken out of those arguments. Tagovailoa's debut with the Falcons was about as mediocre as could be, reinforcing all the negative takes on his game over the last two years. The worst of it was Tagovailoa's refusal to throw the ball downfield - or even past the line of scrimmage. When he came off the field his average per attempt was somehow less than one yard.
Tua threw 5 passes zero attempts traveled even 5 yards in the air all 5 were thrown underneath he averaged -0.2 air yards lowest of any QB in a preseason game so far this year https://t.co/6pEGvmb6pF — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 15, 2026 Heading into the second week of the preseason, Tagovailoa has been named the one player on the Falcons who's on the hot seat by Zachary Pereles at CBS Sports.
"The bridge/maybe more(?) quarterback train chugs on from Minnesota to Atlanta, where Tua Tagovailoa seemed to be the leader in the clubhouse over Michael Penix Jr., if only because Penix still isn't taking part in full team drills... Then Tagovailoa had an uninspiring preseason Week 1 -- "definitely not up to standard," he said -- and he's already in the hot seat as the presumed starter. Not great."
To be fair, Tagovailoa's action on Friday night was a very small sample size and Atlanta's offensive line didn't do him any favors against Denver's league-best pass rush. That being said, there was nothing one could point to and say it was a positive sign of things to come - no flashes of the potential that once made him a top-five overall pick coming into the league and a Pro Bowler just three years ago. Tua will have to show something in this week's joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts or he may manage to lose the QB1 job by default when Michael Penix Jr. is healthy enough to return to the lineup.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons QB on hot seat after just 1 preseason game