It wouldn't be an NFL season without Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffering some type of injury and then playing through it.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Roethlisberger suffered cracked ribs in his team's devastating loss to the Oakland Raiders last week. Of course, Roethlisberger is expected to play against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Big Ben had a terrific game against the Raiders last week in spite of the loss, completing 25 of his 29 passes for 282 yards, two touchdowns and an impressive passer rating of 130.2.

Overall this season, the 36-year-old has thrown for 4,227 yards, 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 97.4.

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Losing to Oakland any time is bad, but Pittsburgh couldn't have picked a worse week for it.

After the defeat, the Steelers dropped to 7-5-1 and are now holding on for dear life at the top of the AFC North, with the Cincinnati Bengals hot on their heels at 7-6. To make matters worse, Pittsburgh doesn't exactly have an easy schedule the rest of the way.

The Steelers will have to deal with Tom Brady and the Patriots on Sunday, and then, next week, they will have to head out on the road to take on the New Orleans Saints. They will conclude their regular season by hosting the Bengals on Dec. 30.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati will battle the Raiders on Sunday before taking a trip to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Browns next week. That is certainly a much easier two-week task than the Steelers currently face.