The Atlanta Falcons may still have a question about their Week 1 starting quarterback after Tua Tagovailoa went down with an oblique injury during Thursday’s practice.Tagovailoa participated in individual drills with the other quarterbacks during the early portion of practice open to the media, but after one in a series of passes, he grabbed his side and briefly sat on the ground. He was not seen throwing another pass in the portion of practice open to the media, and the Falcons said he was officially limited with the oblique injury.Veteran backup Cooper Rush, who was signed on the first day of training camp, said he took all the first-string snaps Thursday.Why there's more to the Falcons' decision to start Tua Tagovailoa Week 1Josh KendallRush, 32, who spent his first seven years in the league in Dallas, would be in line to start the season opener Sunday in Pittsburgh if Tagovailoa can’t play. Rush started 14 games for the Cowboys and two games for the Baltimore Ravens last year. He is 9-7 overall as a starter.“It’s been fun to jump in and learn the offense,” Rush said this week. “It’s a well-coached system that’s easy to pick up on.”Tagovailoa, 28, missed the first week of training camp practices with lower back tightness that he said at the time was a first for him. He was named the Falcons’ starter Monday and spoke this week about his gratitude for another opportunity in the NFL after a messy ending to his six-year career with the Miami Dolphins, with whom he made one Pro Bowl but was released after two subpar seasons.“When something gets taken away from you, you start to think about all the things you could have changed,” he said. “Looking back at my time in Miami, there are things I could have done better. There’s a lot of things I think I could have done better — turning the ball over, could have played better, my decision-making. … It just wasn’t good enough.”Tagovailoa competed during training camp with Michael Penix Jr., who is in his third year in Atlanta but is coming off a season-ending ACL tear suffered in Week 11 last year. Penix wasn’t cleared for full practice work until Aug. 24, and he said Monday that he did not feel physically ready to compete in a game right now but was “real close.”Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski, who said Monday that Penix would be inactive for the Pittsburgh game, did not speak to reporters after Thursday’s practice.Sep 10, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms