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Visiting the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots led 7-3 late in the second quarter when safety Lee Flowers rolled into Brady's left leg after a throw. Brady's ankle was injured on the play, knocking him out of the game. Drew Bledsoe, who had opened the season as the starter but was replaced by Brady after a serious injury in September, played the rest of the way in a 24-17 win.

“We were better with a healthy Drew Bledsoe with not knowing where Tom was with his injury.”

With just one week between the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XXXVI, Brady was named the starter the Wednesday before the game. He then helped the heavy-underdog Patriots beat the Rams 20-17 in one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, the beginning of his storied career.

Attempting a pass late in the first half of a loss at Tennessee, Brady was hit by Jevon Kearse and suffered a first-degree separation of his throwing shoulder. He further injured it in the season finale against Miami. Rather than having surgery after the season, Brady attempted to return to health through rehab and played the entire 2003 season while on painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds.

The Patriots won two more Super Bowl titles, even while Brady dealt with shoulder issues, and he started his playoff career 9-0. Brady finally had surgery on his shoulder in February 2004, his only notable injury before the knee injury that wiped out his 2008 season.

Yes, he was on the injury report, but it seemed more procedural than anything, as there was seldom any doubt that he would play.

You know the play, right? Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard took out Brady's knee on the 15th offensive play of the 2008 season, ending the quarterback's year before it could get going. The injury opened the door for Matt Cassel to take over at quarterback, leading to the backup being traded to the Chiefs in the offseason (alongside Mike Vrabel). An infection complicated Brady's early recovery, but he won NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2009.

“The reality in this sport, you really never know. ... Any day could be your last day in football. ... Hopefully this is still, relatively, in the early part of my career. I guess you will have to talk to me in a few years.”

The hit led to the NFL's “Tom Brady rule,” which outlawed low hits on quarterbacks.

Brady did miss four games in 2016 when the league suspended him following the Deflategate investigation.

A lingering stress fracture in a bone at the top of Brady's right foot, which he played through during the second half of the regular season, was addressed with a surgical procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital in January 2011. Brady had first showed up on the injury report before the Patriots' game against the Steelers in Week 10.

These were the games in which Brady was listed on the injury report with a foot ailment. His lone interception, however, came in New England's loss to the Jets in the AFC divisional round. Brady had his surgery less than a week after the Patriots were eliminated.

In the Wednesday practice before the AFC Championship Game against the Jaguars, Brady was handing off to Rex Burkhead and the football jammed back into his thumb, hyperextending it with force. There was immediate concern that the injury might sideline Brady four days later, as those in attendance described a scene in which Brady yelled and blood was gushing. But Brady ended up playing in the victory, before the Patriots lost to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

“I thought, 'Of all the plays, my season can't end on a handoff in practice. I didn't come this far to end on a handoff.'”

A passage in the recently released book “The Dynasty” devoted a chapter to the injury, with the doctor who worked on Brady's hand expressing disbelief that Brady could play in the game. Brady had feared his career was over, according to the book.

The 43-year-old Brady would likely attribute his durability to the the TB12 method (and some luck). Regardless, there's a reason he's headed for GOAT status and is thriving with the Bucs in Year 21.

In what would be his final game with the Chargers, Brees suffered a devastating injury that altered the course of NFL history. He dislocated his throwing shoulder and suffered a 360-degree labrum tear and partially torn rotator cuff when a Broncos defender landed on him while diving for a loose ball in a Week 17 loss. Brees feared that his career might be in jeopardy -- and correctly predicted that the Chargers would let him go as a free agent because of the severity. Brees signed a six-year, $60 million deal with the Saints three months later.

“In a lot of ways it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I felt my shoulder was stronger than it ever had been after that rehab process.”

Remarkably, Brees never actually missed a game despite the severity of the injury. He recovered in time to start every game in 2006 and led New Orleans to the NFC Championship Game. Since then, he has set almost every NFL career passing record.

Brees later said that renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews “saved my career” by putting 11 anchors in the labrum and two in the rotator cuff.

Brees missed two weeks with the oblique injury during training camp but started every game in 2014, tying for the NFL lead with 4,952 passing yards. But it wasn't his most efficient season (33 TDs, 17 INTs) and the Saints missed the playoffs at 7-9. Brees later revealed that he felt like he messed up his mechanics by fighting through the injury -- which also led to a nagging shoulder issue late in the season.

Brees spent two months working with his longtime throwing coach, Tom House, that offseason to focus on rebuilding those mechanics.

For the first time since he tore his ACL as a junior in high school, Brees actually missed a start due to injury. He fought through the shoulder injury when it occurred during a second-quarter sack against Tampa Bay in Week 2, but he was unable to recover to play in Week 3. Instead, he stood on the sideline wearing a headset and mimicking every snap as if he were in the game while backup Luke McCown nearly pulled off an upset at Carolina.

Brees returned the next week and led the Saints to an overtime win over Dallas. In his second week back from injury, he asked the team to take his name off the weekly injury report. "I don't like being on there," he said. He finished the season second in the NFL with 4,870 passing yards.

Brees tore his plantar fascia during the second quarter of a Monday night loss to the Lions in Week 15, and the immediate thought was that his season might be over since the Saints were 5-9. Instead, he played the next two games and threw for 412 yards, three TDs and no interceptions in a win over the Jaguars six days later.

“One reason only: I want to play for my guys. Bottom line.”

The only time Brees missed more than one game in his career. He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb when it got hit by Rams DT Aaron Donald while he released a pass in Week 2, then he had surgery and went on to miss the next five games. Backup Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0 in his place, and the Saints finished 13-3, with Brees posting the best passer rating of his career (116.3).

Brees, whose repair of his thumb ligament included an internal brace for support, had to start his recovery by throwing smaller footballs until his grip strength returned. He said he "raided" his kids' supply of Nerf balls and flag footballs so that he could gradually go up in size and weight.

How different could Brees' career have been if he hadn't suffered that shoulder injury in Week 17 in 2005? Where would Philip Rivers be now if Brees had stayed in San Diego? That's one of the NFL's greatest what-ifs. The 41-year-old Brees is playing on year-to-year contracts in New Orleans, and the end of his career is near.

Against the Colts in the divisional round of the 2007 playoffs, Rivers jumped to throw what seemed like an innocuous pass in the third quarter but landed awkwardly. Backup Billy Volek and the Chargers hung on for the win, but an MRI on Rivers' knee later that night revealed the ligament damage. Still, he was determined to play in the AFC Championship Game. "I'll be back," he told fans who taunted him after the game.

Rivers had what turned out to be his best career playoff game before the injury, throwing three touchdown passes on 19 attempts with a Total QBR of 89.8.

“Honestly, it wasn't crazy pain. It kind of buckled a few times in the game, but I really was thankful. Throughout the course of the game, I didn't feel like it hindered me as much as I anticipated.”

The Chargers were 8-4 heading into a pivotal Sunday night game against the Patriots when Rivers injured his back. Team sources told ESPN at the time that Rivers played the next four games with a bulging disk in his lower back that doctors feared was on the brink of being herniated. Rivers played poorly against New England -- his 9.2 Total QBR was the fourth lowest of his entire career -- and a few days later missed his first practice since 2007.

Rivers threw six touchdown passes and eight interceptions in those games, and San Diego finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

Rivers' back injury did not require surgery, and he told San Diego radio station 101 KGB FM in February 2015 that he was "back to my regular workouts and running around."

Rivers was added to the injury report for the first time all season after a hit by Jacksonville's Chris Smith in Week 12. Then, ahead of the Chargers' game against the Chiefs in Week 4, Rivers started the week as a limited participant in practice and added flu-like symptoms later in the week. That caused the Chargers to sign Brad Sorensen off their practice squad as insurance. Rivers, to no surprise, continued his iron man streak.

Rivers was a pedestrian 24-of-43 passing for 263 yards and an interception in the loss to the Chiefs, and the Chargers finished the season at 4-12.

Rivers' streak of 185 straight starts appeared to be jeopardy after he reported to the team that he was suffering from concussion symptoms the day after the Chargers' game against Jacksonville in Week 10. He was a limited participant in practice during the middle of the week, and he didn't clear the protocol until Friday, two days prior to the team's game against Buffalo.

“Anything the neck down I tend to be a little reckless with, but that isn't something I want to play around with.”

Rivers led the Chargers to an easy 54-24 victory over the Bills, but his team couldn't survive an 0-4 start to the season and again missed the playoffs at 9-7.

Rivers hurt the thumb on his throwing hand in the first half against the Raiders in Week 16, his final home game as a Charger. He went to the locker room prior to the Chargers' final possession of the first half and played the second half with his thumb taped. He was a limited participant in practice on Christmas Day the following week before being upgraded to a full participant the next day.

He went 31-of-46 passing for 281 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Week 17 loss to Kansas City, his final game with the team.

He had 16 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions and was sacked 32 times in those games.

How long could the 38-year-old Rivers' legendary iron man streak go? Well, he'd have to play five more seasons to catch Brett Favre's 297, and Rivers is currently playing on a one-year deal with the Colts. Never say never, though.

Just four games into taking over for iron man quarterback Brett Favre, who had made 297 straight regular-season starts, Rodgers looked to be in danger of seeing his modest streak end. He injured his throwing shoulder against the Buccaneers and said he "couldn't throw the ball 10 yards" in the Friday practice before the Week 5 game against the Falcons. But you wouldn't have known it come Sunday ...

On the morning of the game, Rodgers worked out and convinced the team he could play even though he could barely throw it 20 yards. Years later, coach Mike McCarthy said he forgot that he promised Rodgers he wouldn't call any deep shots. In the first half he did -- Fake 94 X Read -- and Rodgers nailed it, finishing with 313 yards and three touchdowns. Rodgers didn't miss a game that season.

“You've just got to grip it and rip it at that point. That goes back to pain management. You just learn how to deal with certain injuries.”

Rodgers suffered his second concussion of the 2010 season when he was hit on consecutive plays against the Lions in Week 14. He missed the next week's game at New England, a game Matt Flynn nearly won, and the Packers were sitting at 8-6 and knowing they had to win out -- and get some help -- just to get into the playoffs.

Rodgers returned in Week 16 and threw four touchdown passes to beat the Giants and start the run to Super Bowl XLV, as the Packers had to win three playoff road games before they beat the Steelers for Rodgers' first and only title. Perhaps just as important, he would go another eight years before he suffered his third diagnosed NFL concussion.

When Bears defensive end Shea McClellin sacked Rodgers and the quarterback hurt his non-throwing shoulder in Week 9, it began nearly two months of weekly debates about when Rodgers would return. In the interim, the Packers went through three fill-in starters -- Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn. Green Bay went 2-4-1 in that stretch, but the team was still in the NFC North race when Rodgers returned in Week 17.

“When I walked back out on that field -- I'm getting a little choked up here just thinking about it, but that was one of the top five moments of my career there.”

Rodgers returned for the regular-season finale at Chicago -- where else? -- throwing for 318 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He led the Packers to a division-clinching win with a last-minute 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb on fourth down. Green Bay, however, lost in the wild-card round to San Francisco.

If anything, the calf injury that Rodgers suffered against the Bucs in Week 16 showed him -- and everyone else -- that he was just as dangerous as a pocket passer. It lingered the rest of the season and even forced him out for a couple of series when it seized up the next week against the Lions.

“My initial thought was I popped my Achilles. It was a very painful sensation.”

Rodgers played one of his most masterful postseason games in the divisional-round win over the Cowboys (316 passing yards and three TDs) -- a game most remembered for Dez Bryant's non-catch -- to send the Packers back to the NFC title game.

It was one of Rodgers' worst games in his 18 career playoff starts, and Green Bay lost in overtime as the Seahawks advanced to Super Bowl XLIX.

The Packers were 4-1 heading into a Week 6 matchup with the Vikings when linebacker Anthony Barr drove Rodgers into the ground onto his throwing shoulder. The injury required 13 screws, and Rodgers said Barr gave him the finger after the hit.

Unlike when Rodgers injured his collarbone in 2013, the Packers put him on injured reserve in 2017, which meant he had to sit out eight weeks.

The Packers stayed in the playoff race -- barely -- with Brett Hundley at quarterback, going 3-4. Rodgers was activated off injured reserve for the Week 15 game against Carolina, but the Packers lost and were eliminated and Rodgers returned to IR. It ended the Packers' streak of consecutive playoff seasons at eight.

The next offseason, the NFL made it a point of emphasis for officials to rule that a player must avoid landing on the quarterback with all or part of his body weight immediately after the ball is thrown. Although the reason for the clarification was never given, many believe it was fueled by Barr's hit that broke Rodgers' collarbone.

At age 36, Rodgers still seeks that elusive second Super Bowl title, but his legacy is firmly entrenched as one of the most talented quarterbacks in NFL history. And he did it after a delayed -- and controversial -- start to his career, waiting three full seasons to take over for Favre.

Roethlisberger's march to his first Super Bowl title was nearly derailed -- with two different knee injuries. He missed a start in Week 5 after hyperextending his left knee, but the more serious injury was to his right knee, which happened in a Week 1 win over the Titans. Roethlisberger played through the injury until early November, when he had arthroscopic knee surgery, removing a piece of torn cartilage.

The Steelers lost in Big Ben's first start after knee surgery, however, at Indianapolis, which began the season 13-0.

The Steelers finished 11-5 and met the Colts again on the road in the divisional round, this time winning -- helped by a crucial Roethlisberger tackle -- on the road to a Super Bowl XL title. Roethlisberger had another surgery on his right knee in 2013.

What was initially reported as a sprained foot turned out to be a pedal bone fracture, a Week 12 injury against the Bills. Roethlisberger didn't miss a game -- he wore a metal-reinforced cleat to help him with the injury through the final eight games of the season, including the Super Bowl XLV loss to the Packers -- and he wore a protective boot off the field.

“There were times during practice and games where I didn't feel like I'd be able to walk.”

Roethlisberger's foot continued to nag him, and he said in the summer of 2011 that surgery to repair and lessen the pain was still an option. He got extra time to heal during the 2011 lockout, however. Roethlisberger also dealt with a broken nose in 2010, courtesy of the Ravens' Haloti Ngata.

The overtime win against the Chiefs in Week 10 was costly for Roethlisberger, who sprained his sternoclavicular joint, a rare injury, when he was sacked by Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, and also dislocated a rib. Roethlisberger, usually able to play through injuries, was in significant pain after this one, and he missed three games. He wore a custom protective compression vest when he returned in Week 14.

“I can move [the arm] around, that's not the issue. Sometimes when I do move it the rib will kind of pop out of place again, which is pretty painful. I just try to keep it as still as I can, for the most part.”

Roethlisberger was in the middle of a career year before the injury, but he struggled to close the season as the Steelers went 1-3, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs.

One of the most painful injuries of Roethlisberger's career happened in Week 3, when the Rams' Mark Barron tripped, fell and grabbed the quarterback's leg. Roethlisberger suffered a sprained MCL, but the pain originated from a deep bone bruise suffered on the play. He missed four games, not playing again until Nov. 1. It was the first time since 2005 that he missed four games in a season.

“You guys know me, I can deal with a lot of pain -- this is pretty painful.”

Roethlisberger returned for the Steelers' second-half run to the playoffs, which resulted in a divisional-round loss to the eventual-champion Broncos. He injured his left knee again the following year, when he "felt something funny." He had arthroscopic surgery but missed only one start.

Roethlisberger had felt a nagging pain in his throwing elbow for years -- the Steelers were fined for not disclosing it -- but in Week 2 against the Seahawks, the pain was different. He tried a deep ball to JuJu Smith-Schuster late in the second quarter and tore three of five flexor tendons in his right elbow. He had season-ending surgery a couple of weeks later, not throwing a football again until February.

Roethlisberger was hurt late in the second quarter, grabbing his elbow after attempting a pass on the team's final drive of the half.

“From what I've been told, it's never happened to a quarterback of this magnitude. I believe there was at least another quarterback that had one, maybe two torn off, but from what I understand, not three.”

After working all offseason to rehabilitate the elbow, Roethlisberger returned to training camp on time and has started all of the Steelers' 2020 games. During chilly games, he wears an elbow sleeve, converted from a puffy team jacket, to keep his surgically repaired elbow warm. Roethlisberger, however, is averaging just 7.1 yards per attempt, the lowest in his career since 2008.

Big Ben is one of the toughest quarterbacks ever to play the game, and the 38-year-old is thriving for the undefeated Steelers this season, though he's launching fewer of those classic bombs we've seen in years past.