The Falcons Are Officially Starting Tua Tagovailoa in Week 1

The Atlanta Falcons are officially handing the Week 1 keys to Tua Tagovailoa, which is a sentence that would have sounded like a Madden simulation glitch just a year ago.

Tom Pelissero reported Monday that Tagovailoa will start under center against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Michael Penix Jr. is still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered last November, leaving the newly acquired veteran to take the opening snaps.

"Tom Pelissero reported that Tua Tagovailoa has gotten most of the reps with Michael Penix Jr. still working his way back."

The Falcons signed Tagovailoa to a minimum deal this offseason specifically for this scenario. Because Atlanta built their entire offensive scheme around a left-handed quarterback in Penix, dropping another southpaw into the huddle was the only way to keep the playbook intact without making the offensive line learn a completely mirrored blocking scheme on the fly.

It is objectively hilarious that a franchise's backup plan for their injured quarterback is a guy who has spent the last five years making medical professionals hold their breath every time he drops back to pass. Tagovailoa has missed 15 regular-season games in his career, including a chunk of last year with a hip injury and his third registered concussion, making this the most fragile insurance policy in NFL history.

For anyone looking at the Week 1 betting lines, this completely changes the math in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defense gets to tee off against a quarterback who is still learning a new system and operating behind an offensive line that is desperately trying to keep him upright.

Penix is expected to take the job back the second his knee is cleared by the medical staff. Until then, the Falcons are riding the Tagovailoa rollercoaster, hoping he can survive the Pittsburgh pass rush long enough to hand the offense back in one piece.