Colts’ Luck shows pluck, doesn’t come unglued after interceptions

PITTSBURGH - Unlike his electric preseason debut, Andrew Luck's first pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't result in a touchdown.

His eighth one did. Just not for the Indianapolis Colts.

Standing on the sideline moments after Pittsburgh's Ike Taylor cut in front of an underthrown pass and raced 50 yards for a score, Luck fumed. But only for a second.

Showing the mental toughness the Colts wanted when they tasked him with helping rebuild a franchise on the fly, the rookie rebounded from two early pickoffs to help Indianapolis take the halftime lead before losing 26-24 on Sunday.

Pittsburgh rookie kicker Danny Hrapmann kicked four second-half field goals, including the 22-yard winner with 23 seconds remaining.

By then the top overall pick was in a baseball cap after completing 16 of 25 passes for 175 yards. He added a 1-yard touchdown run and the Colts (1-1) held their own against a perennial Super Bowl contender.

"You never want to throw any interceptions, even if they are tipped, bobbled, whatever," Luck said. "I've 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."

Luck certainly won over the Steelers (1-1), who let Luck lead the Colts on three second-quarter scoring drives to turn a 14-0 deficit into a 17-14 lead.

"He's a tough kid," Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel said. "He's a good quarterback. I think he's going to play a long time."

Even if Luck wasn't particularly thrilled after Taylor sprinted into the end zone to put the Steelers up by two touchdowns. Luck didn't expect things to go as easily against the Steelers as they did in a romp over St. Louis last week.

"I knew after last week everything wasn't going to be smooth sailing, you know?" Luck said. "But I think you can learn a lot from mistakes and hopefully not repeating mistakes."

Coach Chuck Pagano said: "(Luck) was able to come back and put it behind him just like he always has. We saw the same thing in college."

The Steelers aren't undergoing the kind of drastic makeover the Colts are enduring. Still, they have issues of their own, namely getting used to new offensive coordinator Todd Haley's complex scheme. The results so far are mixed.

Last week, Ben Roethlisberger completed 7 of 8 passes during his one drive of work in the opener against Philadelphia, all of them quick hitters. His first pass Sunday ended up in the hands of Indianapolis' Antoine Bethea.

Antonio Brown and Roethlisberger atoned the next time the Steelers had the ball, with Brown doing most of the work. He hauled in an 18-yard pass from Roethlisberger on third-and-11 to extend the drive, then put together a highlight-reel 57 yard catch-and-run for a touchdown - capped by a somersault.

Roethlisberger finished 5 of 9 for 81 yards.