The Atlanta Falcons took the field for the first time in preseason on Friday against the Denver Broncos. Atlanta is still figuring out who the starting quarterback is, and on Friday, it was Tua Tagovailoa who had the chance to stake an early claim to the job.
Tagovailoa has always drawn a lot of attention from NFL fans. His time with the Miami Dolphins ended quite publicly. Many of his worst moments have occurred under an intense spotlight, and fans have been waiting to see how he would perform with a new team.
The former fifth overall pick did take snaps against the Broncos. But his performance was far from well-received. In fact, one former NFL defensive tackle took to social media to voice his criticisms of Tagovailoa.
Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa Hit With Criticism After Brutal Preseason Debut
Tagovailoa did not play a ton during his preseason debut with the Falcons. He threw five total passes, with three completions. He recorded 22 passing yards and did not record a touchdown. In response to this performance, former NFL defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko took to social media to air his criticisms.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” Fehoko said on Friday night. “The Falcons drafted an injury-riddled inconsistent lefty quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.) in the first round and expected Primetime results. Fast forward they have two of them on the roster now. They won’t see 6 wins.”
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
The Falcons drafted an injury riddled inconsistent lefty quarterback in the first round and expected Primetime results. Fast forward they have two of them on the roster now. They won’t see 6 wins.
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) August 15, 2026
A lot of the criticism around Tagovailoa’s performance comes from the passes he threw. Many took aim at the passes he elected to throw. He didn’t take any shots down the field. In fact, he didn’t take many shots at all.
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NFL analyst Warren Sharp gave a full breakdown of Tagovailoa’s performance which shows how poor the quarterback’s outing was.
“Tua threw 5 passes. Zero attempts traveled even 5 yards in the air,” Sharp said on X. “All 5 were thrown underneath; he averaged -0.2 air yards, lowest of any QB in a preseason game so far this year.”
Tagovailoa struggled massively in his final season with the Dolphins in 2025. He threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions as Miami fell to a 7-10 season. The former Alabama star finished as the 28th highest QB last season on PFN’s QB Impact Metric with an impact score of 72.1.
For comparison’s sake, Penix played nine games for the Falcons in 2025 and finished with the 26th-highest QB impact score (72.8), tossing nine touchdowns to three interceptions while recording 1,982 passing yards.
Unfortunately, Atlanta failed to make the playoffs last year. They fired head coach Raheem Morris and are hoping Kevin Stefanski can lead the way. Stefanski is a former two-time Coach of the Year winner, winning both of them with the Cleveland Browns.
Stefanski has a crucial decision to make, as the early returns on Tagovailoa’s performance are not great. But there is still a lot of time left for the veteran quarterback to prove the doubters wrong.
