Here's a tip of the hat to Trevor Penning -- he's earned it. The New Orleans Saints right tackle held his own in his first real start. Sure, it's just one game. Sure, it's just the Carolina Panthers. But Penning showed head coach Dennis Allen what he needed to see on Sunday.

"I thought it was a big step forward for him. I thought this was going to be a tough challenge going against (Jadeveon) Clowney," Allen said on WWL Radio Monday evening. "I thought he did a good job there. I thought he was really tough and nasty in the run game."

That lines up with what Allen said immediately after the game on Sunday: "When you look at the offensive performance and being able to put points up like that, being able to run the football like that – three touchdown passes, is that right? You don't do those things without your offensive line playing at a high level. I thought they played well."

Penning was one of three offensive players to stay on the field for all 66 snaps against the Panthers, along with his fellow linemen Taliese Fuaga and Erik McCoy. Pro Football Focus charting dinged him with allowing just one pressure on 26 snaps in pass protection, and the Saints' runners averaged a solid 2.2 yards per carry before contact when following the right side of the line.

Again, it's just one game. He's about to run up against one of the best defenders in the league with Micah Parsons leading the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Penning has a long ways to go to fully win over his doubters. But every journey starts with one step, and he took a big step forward in Week 1.

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This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Trevor Penning took an important step forward against the Panthers