Tua Tagovailoa made his Atlanta Falcons debut Friday night against the Denver Broncos, went 3-for-5 for 22 yards, fumbled a snap on his second play, watched the Falcons lose 27-7 and came out saying exactly what you'd expect.
"Definitely not up to standard, not even up to par," he said. "Frustrated and disappointed at the way things happened tonight." He played just two series, nine plays, one first down, before coach Kevin Stefanski pulled him.
He targeted tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. on four of his five attempts. The Broncos scored 24 unanswered points.
The moment that went viral: Michael Penix Jr., who has not yet been cleared from a torn ACL and did not suit up, was caught on camera on the sideline pointing directly at Tua's number on the back of his jersey.
"5 minutes into Week 1 of the NFL preseason and we already got a generational meme," one X user wrote. Penix was making a comment to a teammate and the gesture's meaning was never confirmed, but the internet immediately wrote a narrative about it.
Tua signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with Atlanta in March after being released by the Dolphins.
He and Penix Jr. are competing for the Week 1 starting role. The coaching staff will not name a starter until the week before the season. The next preseason game is August 22 against the Colts.