Pittsburgh Steelers rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu made his first NFL start on Sunday and appeared to come away with flying colors in the Steelers’ 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field in Mile High.

Fautanu played 55 snaps against the Broncos and was named Player of the Game by Pro Football Focus as the Steelers improved to 2-0.

“The NFL career of Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The first-round pick was drafted at right tackle after missing Week 1, and he went zero pressure and undefeated in 29 pass-blocking snaps,” PFF’s Ben Cooper wrote. “Fautanu has also been defeated in just one of his 26 run-defense snaps, pending final evaluation.”

Although there are still many film reviews to be written in the coming days, Fautanu seemed to perform quite well during an initial live viewing.

He had a tough task ahead of him with Denver pass rusher Jonathon Cooper putting together a dominant performance in Week 1 for the Broncos, but Fautanu was up to the task in his first career start.

The only time Fautanu left the field was in a rotation with Broderick Jones, who took over the Steelers’ third drive of the game but was quickly taken off after just 11 snaps following three penalties, including two holding calls that negated positive plays for the Steelers.

Before making his first start on Sunday, Fautanu had missed the Steelers’ last two exhibition games. He suffered a knee injury in the season opener against the Houston Texans and was forced off the field at halftime. He was given a knee brace.

Shortly after the injury, Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers would start Fautanu immediately at right tackle. That did not happen, as Fautanu returned to practice for Week 1 against the Falcons, but remained on the bench in a reserve role.

Preparations for the game against the Broncos went into overdrive this past week, with Fautanu being inserted into the starting lineup, giving the Steelers a boost at right tackle in Arthur Smith’s offense.

Overall, a great start for Fautanu in the Black and Gold. It will be interesting to see what the All-22 can show, but it’s hard not to be encouraged by the fact that he allows no pressure and is beaten by a defender on just one run play.