There is plenty of intrigue surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, and not just because it's part of the first NFL Sunday in seven months. It will be the Steelers' first real game without Mike Tomlin roaming the sidelines in nearly 20 years, and it will be the final season opener for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
For the Falcons, however, the intrigue unfortunately lies with their QB situation. As of writing, no decision has been made as to whether it will be Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. who will lead their offense against a strong Pittsburgh defense in Week 1. They are the only team remaining that entered the preseason with a QB battle brewing that hasn't named a starting QB, and it leaves no excuses for the Steelers to use if they don't dominate this game.
It's not that the Falcons can't be a threat with either Tagovailoa or Penix behind center, but the lack confidence by head coach Kevin Stefanski to name a starter (especially with Penix just recently getting fully healthy) is a clear cause for concern.
The Falcons lack of QB confidence leaves the Pittsburgh Steelers with no excuse not to dominate
I am fairly confident that somebody out there has already made this observation, but the fact that Tua has the chance to essentially lose a QB battle where he was the only real participant is hard to ignore. While Penix has been able to participate to some degree before being cleared for full practice recently, he never appeared in the preseason or did full-team drills throughout training camp.
Even so, it sure seems like he has a chance to be the starter against Pittsburgh. He is the far more gifted thrower and the far better athlete, even coming off his knee injury. He is also still relatively young (26) and has the pedigree of being a top-10 draft choice just a few years ago.
Tua was always going to be a stopgap at best for Atlanta, and that was only if Penix never got fully healthy or if he looked like a lost cause in camp. Even if he starts against the Steelers in Week 1, that may be one of just a few chances he gets before Penix ultimately gets another chance.
So, in short, Pittsburgh will either face an inexperienced QB who just days ago was cleared for full practice, or a washed-up veteran who couldn't play well enough to earn the job outright while the aforementioned QB was coming back from a major injury. Yeah...I think it's fair to be disappointed if the Steelers don't win this one handily.
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