Kevin Stefanski entered the preseason with a clear plan: starters would play in games one and three and sit in game two. But little did he know, his offense would come out flat in its debut. The Atlanta Falcons mustered just seven points in their preseason opener and were held under 200 total yards.
Tua Tagovailoa was at the center of it: in his two series with the starters, the veteran looked uncomfortable, leaving fans with little hope for the season. Seeing what happened out there should give Stefanski second thoughts about his original plan.
But that is only wishful thinking. As you can see, clear as day, Tagovailoa won't be on the field against the Colts on Saturday. This is the wrong decision by the new man at the controls because this offense needs all the reps it can get before they take the field against a scary Steelers defense when things really matter.
Kevin Stefanski is setting his offense up to fail by not playing the starters
I will say it again: this offense needs all the reps and camaraderie they can get before they face Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and the rest of the Pittsburgh defense -- a defense determined to bounce back after a shaky 2025 campaign.
If you thought what you saw on Friday was bad, imagine what it will look like in Week 1 in a rowdy environment. That is why playing Tua and his gang should be the decision this week. I get it, the new head coach already decided before they took the field. But the job of a coach is to adjust.
The presumptive starting quarterback couldn't even pull in his first dropback snap. And he looked scared to hang in the pocket and throw in rhythm from there. And what did it lead to? Some ugly stats and what is being labeled the 'meme of the year.'
Tua threw 5 passes
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 15, 2026
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
Yes, it was a small sample size, and he was missing his starting right tackle -- which stuck out like a sore thumb. But isn't that even more reason to change Saturday's original plan?
Tua didn't look comfortable throwing the ball to anyone other than a one-yard-down-the-field Kyle Pitts. We didn't get to see any chemistry with other receivers. Even a drive or two would be beneficial. It'd give them a chance to gain confidence against the Colts' backups.
With there being nothing to do about it, we can only hope the team looks like an entirely different team in their preseason finale against the Dolphins. Right now, fans have little reason to have hope for this team, but that can change with a couple of strong drives from Tua in a week and a half.
Add us as a preferred source on Google