At least there’s comfort in knowing it’s only the preseason.
Tua Tagovailoa’s much-anticipated debut with the Atlanta Falcons hit a rough patch, leaving him disappointed after their 27-7 defeat against the Denver Broncos at home on Friday night.
The former Miami Dolphins quarterback managed to complete just 3 of 5 passes, tallying a mere 22 yards.
“It definitely wasn’t up to our standards,” Tagovailoa admitted after orchestrating two stunted drives that resulted in punts. “What we displayed didn’t reflect the dedication we’ve poured into the first two weeks of training camp. It doesn’t do justice to the efforts of our coaches either.”
“I have to start with myself,” he added. “I must improve.”
Tagovailoa joined Atlanta this offseason after a poor end to his time with the Dolphins and there are plenty of questions about his effectiveness.
He’s competing with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting role in one of the more underwhelming quarterback battles in the sport.
Penix is sidelined at the moment in his return from a torn ACL suffered last November, affording Tagovailoa a chance to grab an early lead in the competition.
He did not do that Friday night.
Tagovailoa harped on the second play of the game, a fumbled snap that put the Falcons in a 3rd-and-15 and ultimately led to a punt.
Atlanta’s second opportunity featured a completion for a first down, but two incompletions and a penalty stalled the drive.
“Both frustrated and disappointed with the way things happened tonight, as we went out there,” Tagovailoa said.
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t specifically evaluate Tagovailoa’s performance due to the limited amount of snaps, but noted they could have been better.
He also cited the fumbled snap.
Stefanski is an offensive-minded coach and will be tasked with elevating either Tagovailoa or Penix to be quality starters and afford the Falcons a chance to claim a winnable NFC South.
Tagovailoa is only 28 and once seemed like the Dolphins’ quarterback of the future, but multiple concussions and a dip in production led to Miami parting ways.
After posting career-highs in passing yards and touchdowns in 2023, Tagovailoa threw for less than 3,000 yards in each of the last two years and tossed a career-high 15 interceptions last season.
Tagovailoa is hoping to play in the team’s final two preseason games in hopes of cleaning up the sloppiness.
“With this being preseason, that gives you no excuse to go out there and put a performance like that out there on tape,” Tagovailoa said. “Not satisfied, not happy at all whatsoever. We’ll learn from this.”