Is Tua Tagovailoa Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Falcons vs. Steelers in NFL Week 1)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was set to start in Week 1 of the 2026 season with Michael Penix Jr. (torn ACL) still working his way back, but Tagovailoa suffered an injury in practice. this week.

Officially, Tagovailoa is dealing with an oblique injury that caused him to go down during practice. He's been ruled out for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said that the former Dolphins signal-caller is now "week-to-week."

Stefanski: Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) considered week-to-week.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) September 11, 2026

As a result, veteran Cooper Rush is in line to start for Atlanta in Week 1.

The Falcons' injury issues have caused oddsmakers at DraftKings to move the odds for Sunday's game against the Steelers pretty considerably. Atlanta opened up as a 3.5-point road underdog with Tagovailoa expected to start, but the line has six moved to Pittsburgh -6.5.

To make matters worse, Rush reportedly is dealing with back spasms ahead of this game, so he may not even be 100 percent when making this start.

Falcons starting QB Cooper Rush, who was replacing the injured QB Tua Tagovailoa, experienced back spasms Saturday but the team said he still will start Sunday at Pittsburgh.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2026

Rush wasn't great for the Baltimore Ravens in four games in the 2025 season, leading them to an 0-2 record in two starts. He threw for just 303 yards and four picks (no scores) during those four games, and the Ravens opted to go with veteran Tyler Huntley over him with Lamar Jackson injured.

So, it makes sense that oddsmakers have the Falcons as nearly touchdown underdogs in Week 1.

Tagovailoa's status going forward is up in the air, and it's possible the Penix could return to the lineup and supplant the former top-five pick as the starter anyway. After all, Tagovailoa was released by Miami in the offseason and is coming off a pretty rough 2025.

He completed 67.7 percent of his passes last year, but the University of Alabama product was picked off 15 times in 14 games, leading Miami to just a 6-8 record. The Falcons didn't see a ton of great play from Tagovailoa in the preseason, which certainly makes it possible for Penix to start once he feels ready to go.

NFL insider James Palmer reported that Penix is healthy and cleared, but the former first-round pick isn't quite ready to return to action.

The Falcons will hopefully have more options at quarterback in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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