Andrew Luck sheepishly laughed and rolled his eyes to the ground.
“You never want to make mistakes,” the Indianapolis Colts rookie QB said, cutting off a question about learning from mistakes.
Then Luck gathered himself and gave an educated, well-spoken answer.
Luck was just as adept at quickly bouncing back off the field as he was on it Sunday night.
Luck started the game against the Steelers on Sunday night 2 of 7 with an interception that was returned for a touchdown. But from that point on, he was an impressive 14 for 18 for 159 yards, engineered three scoring drives in four chances and scored on a 1-yard dive before exiting at halftime of what ended up a 26-24 loss.
“It's a quick turnaround and your team is fielding a kickoff and you've got a chance to go out there again, so you kind of flush it and focus on the next play,” Luck said. “You're thinking so much with all the playcalls that it's easy to forget about good or bad what happened earlier.”
Luck completed some passes with touch, others by showcasing his strong arm.
Although he didn't have a touchdown pass and threw two interceptions. But he had the rushing score, and the second interception was far from his fault. Rookie T.Y. Hilton bobbled the ball and it floated up into the waiting hands of Steelers CB Cortez Allen.
“As a quarterback you never want to throw a pick-six -- you never want to throw any interceptions, even if they are tipped, bobbled, whatever,” Luck said. “Got to cut down on those, but I think showing we can bounce back from those mistakes and kind of climb out of that hole was a good sign.”
Said Colts coach Chuck Pagano: “All the great ones think (an interception is) a fluke, and he understood the competition level and those types of things, and he was able to come back and put it behind him just like he always has. We saw the same thing in college."
Walking wounded: The Colts lost three starters to injury in the first half -- DE Cory Redding (knee/ankle), WR Austin Collie (head) and LB Robert Mathis (shoulder).
Mathis’ shoulder isn't thought to be serious. Pagano said the same for Redding but added that he was getting an MRI on Monday. Collie has a history of concussions, so Pagano said the team elected to “err on the side of caution.”
Veteran security blanket: With all the change the Colts have undergone over the past year, one of the most familiar old faces made his presence known against the Steelers.
Reggie Wayne led the Colts in targets (nine), receptions (six) and receiving yards (74). The 33-year-old Wayne has 862 catches and 73 receiving touchdowns in his 12-year NFL career.
“To have a guy who's been there, done that in every situation that knows how to win, knows how to squeak games out in the fourth quarter, it's paramount,” Luck said. “He's definitely helpful, and talking to guys if he sees a situation where he thinks his advice might help. But he’s not overbearing in any way… He's been great.”
Ballard impresses again: For the second consecutive week, Vick Ballard led the Colts in rushing. For the second consecutive week, he also impressed his coaches.
Ballard, a fifth-round pick from Mississippi State, had 10 carries for 34 yards Sunday.
“He can tote that thing,” Pagano said. “He's going to be an outstanding running back for us. … I'm really proud of Vick. He's studying and working his tail off both in the meeting room and on the practice field, and it's really showing up in these preseason games.”
Follow Steelers reporter Chris Adamski on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLPIT and @BuzzsawPGH.
