Making his first career NFL start, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu appeared to pass with flying colors Sunday in the Steelers’ 13-6 in over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field in Mile High.
Fautanu played 55 snaps against the Broncos and earned the Player of the Game award from Pro Football Focus after the Steelers improved to 2-0.
“Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu‘s NFL career couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start. The first-round pick slotted in at right tackle after missing Week 1, and he allowed no pressure and went unbeaten across 29 pass-blocking snaps,” PFF’s Ben Cooper writes. “Fautanu also was beaten on only one of his 26 run-defense snaps, pending final grade reviews.”
Though there’s quite a bit of film review to do in the coming days, at first look live it appeared that Fautanu played quite well.
He had a tough task in front of him with Denver pass rusher Jonathon Cooper coming off a dominant Week 1 performance for the Broncos. But Fautanu was up to the task in his first career start.
The only time Fautanu came off the field was in a rotation with Broderick Jones, who took over on the third drive of the game for the Steelers but was quickly yanked after just 11 snaps following three penalties, including two holding calls that negated positive plays for the Steelers.
Prior to making his first start Sunday, Fautanu had missed the Steelers’ final two preseason games after suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans, exiting at halftime and landing in a knee brace.
Shortly after the injury, the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers were going to start Fautanu at right tackle right away. That didn’t occur as Fautanu returned to practice ahead of Week 1 against the Falcons but remained on the bench in a reserve role.
Things ramped up this past week in preparation of the game against the Broncos, leading to Fautanu stepping into the starting lineup, giving the Steelers a boost at right tackle in Arthur Smith’s offense.
Great start overall for Fautanu in the Black and Gold. It’ll be interesting to see what the All-22 shows, but it’s hard to not be encouraged by him not allowing a single pressure and being beaten by a defender on just one run play.
