Alabama has had an influx in the NFL across the Nick Saban era, but for the first time since he arrived in Tuscaloosa, two of his former quarterbacks could be squaring off against each other during the first week of the season.
On Wednesday the NFL began rolling out each team’s schedules and early in the morning each team’s Week 1 matchups were revealed.
It showed that the Miami Dolphins will be traveling to Foxboro to play the New England Patriots and Tua Tagovailoa could be going up against former teammates Mac Jones.
Week 1 is set ☑️
Be at @GilletteStadium for #MIAvsNE: https://t.co/VbSD6hfahq
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 12, 2021
A hot debate this past season has been which of the team former Crimson Tide signal-callers is superior since both helped win national championships and break school records during their careers.
Tagovailoa was the third overall pick back in 2020 and appeared in nine games as a rookie and going 6-3 as a starter. He is now the unquestioned leader of the offense which will be looking to take a step forward with the addition of wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller.
But the Week 1 matchup is not set in stone as Jones will have his work cut out for him in order to start. New England resigned veteran quarterback Cam Newton who started the majority of games last season.
With Jones being the 15th overall pick in the draft, he will eventually see playing time this season but is expected to sit for a portion if not for the entire year.
Rookie quarterbacks being named opening day starters isn’t out of the ordinary. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and former Philadelphia Eagles now Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carsen Wentz each started the first week of the season.
The way Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels prefers to run his offense completely tailors to Jones’ abilities which was a large reason he was believed to be a great fit.
Although the odds of a Tagovailoa and Jones showdown is much better when the team’s see each other later in the season, both will be tied together for years to come as they battle for the AFC East crown.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
