Two playoff contenders got the news every team dreads on Monday: a serious injury that will keep their starting quarterback out.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the news was worse. Ben Roethlisberger will need surgery on his elbow, Coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. He is out for the season.

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints will be out about six weeks recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his throwing hand, the NFL Network and other news outlets reported.

Roethlisberger, 37, has been synonymous with the Steelers nearly the entire century, starting at least 11 games every season since his rookie year of 2004. He has missed significant time only twice in his career. He served a four-game suspension for violating the N.F.L.’s personal conduct policy in 2010 after he was accused of sexual assault. The Georgia police ultimately decided not to charge him in the case. He also sat out four games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in 2015. He led the team to Super Bowl victories after the 2005 and 2008 regular seasons.