The Steelers and Ravens strapped it on for the second time this season, as is custom for NFL divisional rivals. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, already suffering from an injured foot, had his nose broken in the first quarter, but still managed to throw for 253 yards, a TD, a pick, and nearly scored a beejer from Cris Collinsworth after shot-putting a ball out bounds. And even though the Steelers trailed for most of the game, a Joe Flacco fumble set up Pittsbugh’s only touchdown en route to a 13-10 win and sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

“That’s a Steelers-Ravens game, right? Hard-fought all the way to the end,” Roethlisberger said. “Everybody contributes.”

He laughingly suggested that his battered nose helped take his mind off his ailing foot.

“It hurt a lot,” he said of the foot, “but the broken nose took some of the pain away.” –Y! Sports.

A broken nose reducing pain? That has to be a first for modern medicine. It was also interesting that Roethlisberger also got preferential treatment from the league by being allowed to wear two different shoes, which is illegal for players that aren’t kickers or punters. Chad Ochocinco must have been screaming at his TV all night.

See the rapiest nose in football (allegedly) injured in moving pictures after the jump.