Kirk Cousins · Tua Tagovailoa · 2026 week 1

Kirk Cousins or Tua Tagovailoa?

Wondering who you should start this week — Kirk Cousins or Tua Tagovailoa? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Tua Tagovailoa — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 1.3 points. The matchup leans Tua Tagovailoa (PIT allow the 5th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 1	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Kirk Cousins	vs MIA	17.0	10th	12.6	51	healthy
Tua Tagovailoa START	@ PIT	18.3	5th · soft	10.7	52	healthy

QBs vs MIA recently: Joe Burrow 29 pts (W16) · Baker Mayfield 19.4 pts (W17) · Drake Maye 15.7 pts (W18).

QBs vs PIT recently: Jared Goff 26.5 pts (W16) · Shedeur Sanders 11.4 pts (W17) · Lamar Jackson 21.4 pts (W18).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Tua Tagovailoa carries the higher trade value — 52 against 51 (a 2% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Tua Tagovailoa gets the most. Momentum: Kirk Cousins +51 and Tua Tagovailoa -7 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

Kirk Cousins or Jacoby Brissett?Kirk Cousins or Geno Smith?Tua Tagovailoa or Fernando Mendoza?Tua Tagovailoa or Jacoby Brissett?Tua Tagovailoa or Geno Smith?

Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.