Luck felt 'grateful and appreciative' in return from shoulder injury

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck played his first game in more than 20 months on Sunday, as he finally worked his way back to the field from the shoulder injury that cost him the entirety of the 2017 campaign.

Related: Despite loss, Luck makes triumphant NFL return

Though the Colts lost the contest 34-23 to the Cincinnati Bengals, Luck expressed how much it meant to him to make it through a full meaningful game.

"Overwhelming, I felt grateful and appreciative to be here," Luck said, according to ESPN's Mike Wells. "I was so excited to get to run on the field as a Colt and get to play with T.Y. (Hilton) and Jack (Doyle) and (Adam Vinatieri) and the new guys. It was fun. Then the game got going, and then it's one play at a time."

The majority of Luck's success came after he made it through an early injury scare when Bengals safety Shawn Williams was ejected from the game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the sliding quarterback.

Luck got up from the play and gave a thumbs up toward the Colts' sideline.