Tua Tagovailoa doesn't have room to make many mistakes in Week 1

The Atlanta Falcons finally knowwho their starting quarterback will befor Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they've put Tua Tagovailoa in charge of running the offense. It was a decision that felt inevitable, even with Michael Penix Jr. getting cleared two weeks before the start of the season. The reality is that Tagovailoa has taken most of the first-team snaps throughout training camp and the preseason, while Penix is still looking to be 100% healthy.

Though Tagovailoa is the starter for Week 1 doesn't mean that he'll be the starter for the rest of the season. If you don't believe so, head coach Kevin Stefanskiechoed these wordsafter announcing Tagovailoa as the QB1.

"“I’m going to stay in Week 1 and not speculate past that. I don’t think it’s fair to go past this week on anything with our football team," Stefanski said."

Josh Kendall of The Athletic

Tua Tagovailoa is on a short leash with the Falcons

That means that at any time, Stefanski can name Cooper Rush the starting quarterback, or when Penix feels like he's ready to take the field, he can be named the starter. Tagovailoa is basically on a short leash, and he's going to have to play a clean game against the Steelers if he wants to continue to be the starter.

It almost sounds like Stefanski is willing to make a quarterback decision week-by-week, and that could show that there isn't much confidence in that room. Tagovailoa had a chance to grab the QB1 spot by the horns during training camp, but he never did enough to give the Falcons belief that he could be the long-term starter. Instead, they dragged the decision out until Week 1, leaving them as the only team that hadn't named a starter yet.

Penix wasn't given a fair chance because of his rehab, but there's no telling what could've happened if he had been cleared earlier during training camp. As of now, the Falcons can only focus on the Steelers and making sure that Tagovailoa is ready to perform.

It won't be an easy matchup, as the Steelers areone of the better defensive teamsin the league. That won't matter to the Falcons, because if Tagovailoa isn't playing up to his standards, it looks like he could lose his spot at any point during the season.

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