Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward for a three-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining in the game to put the Steelers up 28-10 over the Denver Broncos. Pittsburgh could’ve run the ball on third down and kicked a field goal for a two touchdown lead if they were stopped. They opted to make a highlight play. Ward did a Jahvid Best-like jump over Champ Bailey minus the getting flipped over and landing on his head part to get the ball in the end zone.

The league’s dirtiest player got nasty. Hines Ward made Champ Bailey look like Ryan Howard whiffing on a breaking ball. Ok.. Not quite that bad but you know what I’m saying.

• Former NFL player and coach Mike Ditka has a plan to clean up the game

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst Mike Ditka is one of the league’s all-time baddest men. He’s 69 years old and he can still lay the wood and take a hit.

Yesterday Ditka stopped by his alma mater, Pitt, to talk to the players and offer advice like “Outhit your opponents”. The subject of the NFL taking hard hits out of the game came up, and Iron Mike says he knows how to solve the problem.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“I said a long time ago if you want to change the game take the mask off the helmet,” he said. “It will change the game a lot. If you want to change the game and get it back to where people aren’t striking with the head and using the head as a weapon, take the mask off the helmet.

“A lot of pretty boys aren’t going to stick their face in there. If you’re going to take hitting out of football, you might as well just call it soccer. That’s what I believe. A lot of people will be disappointed I said that, but football is what it is. [Vince] Lombardi said it a long time ago. Football is not a contact game. Dancing is a contact game. Football is a collision sport.”

First Troy Palumalu called the NFL a pansy league and now Ditka’s calling them a bunch of pretty boys that only hit the way they do because of the protective gear. I think Hines Ward would lay guys out with or without a face mask.

Speaking of Troy Palumalu here’s a video of him getting interviewed by a guy that’s a mix of Elie Seckbach and Tucker from There’s Something About Mary.