It was not a great start for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in his debut for the franchise, as his team trailed 24-0 against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter on Friday night in NFL preseason action.
Tagovailoa was 3-for-5 passing for 22 yards, and he didn’t throw a touchdown pass or an interception. He started on Friday night as Michael Penix Jr. is recovering from a partially torn ACL in his left knee.
PFN Analysts Share Thoughts on Tua Tagovailoa’s Start
After Tagovailoa was done, Cooper Rush came in to play at quarterback. A number of PFN analysts had some things to say after watching the former Miami Dolphins signal-caller struggle in the preseason.
Matt Infante, chief operating and financial officer for PFN and writer of the Miami Dolphins Today newsletter, commented after seeing Tagovailoa fumble a snap. He wrote, “Tua’s good for one of these per game. Some things never change.”
Tua’s good for one of these per game. Some things never change. https://t.co/9Hv8R37bhY
— Matt Infante (@MattInfante) August 14, 2026
Jason Katz, fantasy football analyst for PFN, was rather pointed in his words about Tagovailoa. He wrote, “Tua looks impossibly bad. Zero chance he holds off Michael Penix the entire season. Probably doesn’t make it to November.”
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Matt Cannata, CEO of Pro Football Network, didn’t mince words about the Falcons’ quarterback and said, “Tua is who he is.”
Tua is who he is.
— Matt Cannata (@CannataPFN) August 14, 2026
PFN’s account on X shared a clip of Tagovailoa going out there and not looking sharp against the Broncos.
“Tua Tagovailoa is struggling early in his preseason debut with the Falcons,” the account wrote. “Michael Penix Jr. actually ranked higher in PFN QB Impact Scoring than Tua last year (72.8 vs. 72.1). Should Penix be Atlanta’s Week 1 starter?”
Tua Tagovailoa is struggling early in his preseason debut with the Falcons 😖
Michael Penix Jr. actually ranked higher in PFN QB Impact Scoring than Tua last year (72.8 vs. 72.1)
Should Penix be Atlanta’s Week 1 starter? pic.twitter.com/0GAZZP7VOc
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 14, 2026
Last season with the Dolphins, Tagovailoa threw 20 touchdown passes along with 15 interceptions. He totaled 2,660 passing yards, and according to the PFN NFL QB Impact Metric, he ranked 28th in the league.
Tagovailoa will need to show improvement going forward, or Falcons fans might turn on him before he gets a fair chance.
