The matchup between Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle Troy Fautanu and Houston Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. is a pivotal one in the AFC Wild Card round matchup on Monday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium.

It’s not a flashy one, but it will be a key one that will play a significant factor in the outcome of the playoff game on the North Shore Monday night.

For Fautanu, who has quietly had a very good year for the Steelers, locking down the right tackle job, he’s excited for the marquee matchup against Anderson, which will give him a chance to show on a national stage just how good he is.

“Yeah, all props to him for the job he’s done this year. But, I feel like I just play my game, man,” Fautanu said of the matchup against Anderson, according to audio from an interview with WMBS’ George Von Benko. “I just go out there and play, be myself and good things will happen. But I am super excited for this challenge. I know he’s a great player.”

Anderson is a great player, there is no denying that. He has an absurd 93 pressures on the season, according to Pro Football Focus, and has 12.5 sacks on the season. He was a top 5 pick coming out of Alabama for a reason, and he’s done nothing to disappoint in the NFL.

The Houston star earned first-team All-Pro accolades from the Associated Press on Saturday, too, and will have a ton of attention on him Monday night. Fautanu is no slouch though. He’s allowed just 25 pressures and two sacks on the season in 634 pass blocking snaps.

He’s allowed just one sack since Week 10, and has given up just 11 pressures in that same span. The Steelers feel comfortable leaving him on an island — for the most part — in protection. Chances are, they’ll have to do that at times on Monday night against Anderson. There should confidence that Fautanu can hold up.

Getting a chance to show just how good he is in a matchup like this has Fautanu excited.

“A hundred percent. This is why they go and get you. They always remind me, this is why they go and get you early in the draft, right?” Fautanu said of the matchup with Anderson. “Just to make sure these matchups look a lot different than when those top tier pass rushers are going against most. So I’m just trying to make sure that I do my job to the best of my ability.

“Yeah, I’m really excited.”

Based on the way head coach Mike Tomlin likes to motivate and get players geared up for big individual matchups, there’s a great chance the longtime head coach highlighted the Fautanu-Anderson matchup during the weekly team meeting, stating that the Steelers need to win it, putting the spotlight on Fautanu.

He’s done that in the past before. Though it was a regular season game, a matchup against the Bengals in 2024 in which Tomlin highlighted Nick Herbig against Cincinnati left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. comes to mind. Herbig ultimately made a splash play and won the matchup.

That has to be the case with Fautanu on Monday night. He has to do his best to quiet Anderson and give Aaron Rodgers a chance to have success in the passing game against Houston’s elite defense.