Tua Tagovailoa ruled out for Atlanta Falcons season opener against Pittsburgh Steelers

The Atlanta Falcons will start Cooper Rush at quarterback for Sunday’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tua Tagovailoa is officially out due to an oblique injury aggravated during Thursday’s practice. Michael Penix Jr. is also unavailable for the contest, despite recovering from a previous ACL injury. According to head coach Kevin Stefanski, Penix is not yet ready for game action, leaving Rush to manage the offense for the team's debut. The Atlanta injury report lists several other players as out, including Zachariah Branch, Kyle Hinton, Brandon Dorlus, Da’Shawn Hand, Jawaan Taylor, Kendal Daniels, Billy Bowman Jr., and Cameron Williams. Za’Darius Smith remains questionable with a shoulder injury. The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the matchup with a shorter injury report, listing Joey Porter Jr. as questionable with a back issue, though he is expected to play.

• 10:10 PMYahoo Sports — Tua Tagovailoa ruled out for Sunday