What Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa needs to show vs. Dolphins to win QB1 job

As rumors surround the Atlanta Falcons regarding the quarterback race between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., there is no denying that Friday’s preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins will be huge for the newcomer. With the Falcons getting ready for the 2026 NFL season, this insider details what the veteran needs to show to get ahead of the starting quarterback race.

According to Cameron Wolfe on “NFL Live,” Friday’s outing is a “huge opportunity” for Tagovailoa to prove to Atlanta that he can start for the team after an inconsistent training camp and preseason, especially against his former team, the Dolphins.

Wolfe is expecting 15 to 20 plays for Tagovailoa on Friday, depending on how Miami plays, and facing his former team is part of the test to see how he’ll combat the “adversarial response” that the fans could give the 28-year-old.

“Through his inconsistency, it has allowed Michael Penix to get back into this quarterback race, and I’m told this could go into next week, where they watch Michael Penix practice again. So for today, Tua has to ball out, and there’s two things that Kevin Stefanski wants to watch. How does he handle the operation? They struggled with that a lot in the first preseason game. They had a true dress-rehearsal game plan. They put in regular-season-style plays for Miami to see how Tua can handle the moment,” Wolfe said.

.@CameronWolfebreaks down what Tua Tagovailoa needs to show in the Falcons' final preseason game when they face his former team in Miami pic.twitter.com/GJb8tZxNgF

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 28, 2026

If Tagovailoa does play well, it could alleviate any nervousness that the Falcons had and give Penix more time to rest, as he’s working from tearing his ACL last November. If Tagovailoa plays poorly, it could lead the way for Penix to start, even though he won’t log any preseason time.

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