Tua Tagovailoa didn’t play in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. He hurt his oblique late in the practice week and couldn’t suit up for the Atlanta Falcons.
That actually allowed some fans to consider whether Tagovailoa got a bad rap by the end of his Miami Dolphins career.
Tagovailoa spent his Sunday watching the Cooper Rush-led Falcons lose 20-13 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Later on Sunday, the Dolphins lost 27-13 in a pretty hapless effort against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Tagovailoa’s Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel, is now the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, who lost in a surprise upset to the Arizona Cardinals.
It seemed everywhere else, Tua’s past friends struggled without him.
Maybe Tua Wasn’t The Problem
It’s obviously one week, one that the lefty QB didn’t even play in, so it’s certainly overplaying it to say that Tagovailoa wasn’t at fault.
But this breakdown, if nothing else, is quite fascinating:
Jaylen Waddle: 1 Rec, 2 Yards
Mike McDaniel: 14 points vs the worst team in the league
De’Von Achane: 11 Rushes, 36 Yards
Tyreek Hill: 0 Rec, 0 Yards#He was the one thing keeping it all together pic.twitter.com/U4sry5B48Z
— VBS (@VBSofficial_) September 15, 2026
Jaylen Waddle was traded this offseason from the Dolphins to the Broncos for a big haul, and his Denver debut was brutal in a Monday night loss to the Chiefs.
The post probably sells the Cardinals just a little short as “the worst team in the league,” but it certainly wasn’t a good showing for McDaniel calling the shots for his new QB Justin Herbert, who was taken one spot behind Tagovailoa in the draft.
De’Von Achane remains in Miami, and he’s now paired with new QB Malik Willis, and they struggled to sustain drives on Sunday.
Tyreek Hill is still a free agent after his season-ending injury last year.
Sure, there are multiple explanations for everything that happened, and nothing is as simple as saying, “Well, they just needed Tua.”
But they were all without Tua, and whether it’s correlation or not, it’s certainly overlapping coincidence.
What’s Next for Tua?
The bigger problem for Tagovailoa himself is that his injury forced the Falcons to start Rush, and now it’s looking like when Michael Penix Jr. gets healthy, he’ll be Atlanta’s next starter.
The unfortunately timed oblique injury for Tua may have taken him out of consideration to start for the Falcons at all.
It’s not clear now when Tagovailoa will get another chance to be a QB1. He could have a winding road ahead.
It’s only been a few years since Tagovailoa was putting up prolific numbers in Miami. These days, everything feels a whole lot different.
A New Conclusion About Tua Tagovailoa’s Time With Dolphins