Mike Tomlin Takes Wild Shot At Falcons' Tua Tagovailoa Ahead Of Steelers' Battle Against Falcons

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering an entirely new era as Mike McCarthy will lead the team onto the field in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. The Atlanta Falcons will come to town, but nothing will be anywhere close to normal in the Steel City. After an incredible 19 years running the show, Mike Tomlin made the surprising decision to step down following a Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans. While fans will no longer get to experience the legendary coach's press conferences, he will remain in the spotlight as a member of the Football Night in America crew for NBC.

Tomlin has always been known as an individual who can speak with the best of them. He had a knack for somehow generating headlines while speaking with the media even though he would rarely even give a ton of information based on what was asked of him. This was expected to change with his jump to television, and that was very apparent on Wednesday evening.

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faced off in a Super Bowl rematch following an offseason that likely felt entirely too long for fans. The ones who are loyal to the Steelers will have to wait just a little bit longer, with the organization set to host the Falcons on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. That didn't stop Tomlin's new crew from talking a little bit about the matchup, however.

Pittsburgh will go up against Tua Tagovailoa — a former first-round pick who is looking to regain his form — while Michael Penix Jr. works his way back from a serious knee injury. While it may not be remembered by all that watch the NFL, Tomlin made sure to take a little shot at Atlanta's starting signal-caller by reminding everyone that the Steelers could be the reason why Tagovailoa is in the current position that he is.

"His last visit to Pittsburgh didn't go well," Tomlin said. "[The Dolphins] lost, he got benched, and so I think it's gonna be a good day for Mike McCarthy, Patrick Graham and company."

In December of 2025, the slim playoff hopes that the Miami Dolphins had were ruined by a prominent performance from Tomlin's squad. The former Super Bowl winner wanted to make it known on national television that his Steelers got Tagovailoa sent to the bench. Additionally, he made his first official prediction that Pittsburgh would be victorious in his absence. At the same time, Tomlin also expressed absolutely no confidence in Tagovailoa.

Not too long after that aforementioned December contest that led to Tagovailoa's benching, the signal-caller's head coach at the time, Mike McDaniel, made sure to mention that he was confident in his decision to bench the passer.

"I need convicted quarterback play. This team needs convicted quarterback play," McDaniel said per ESPN. "I thought Quinn [Ewers] gave us the best chance to do that ... I couldn't responsibly play this next game when I thought what the team needed was available and live in hope and wish and stuff."

The dominos have fallen and a lot has changed since that bad December performance from Tagovailoa. There is a new staff in the Steel City, and the formerly-benched quarterback does have a starting job once again. That is why there is a lot on the line come Sunday; however, Tomlin won't be the one on the sideline for the Steelers. It's still extremely notable that he wasn't afraid to mention that he has absolutely no trust in the Falcons' leader under center.

Steelers Must Show Tagovailoa That Motivation Doesn't Matter

There is likely an aspect to the upcoming matchup that seriously motivates Tagovailoa. A lot of pundits could believe that Penix will be the starting quarterback as soon as he is fully healthy, but there might be a little more of a story to write if Tagovailoa can step in and perform at a high level. Additionally, losing to the Steelers as a member of the Dolphins could be the last thing on his mind when it comes to competitive football. It certainly should be a matchup that Tomlin will enjoy watching.

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