Maybe football is not the “pansy” game that Steelers safety Troy Polamalu accused it of being.

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward’s hit on Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers was brutal — but not illegal, at least to the NFL.

After watching replays of the hit, the league determined that Ward will not be fined for the play that left Rivers with a broken jaw, a league official said Tuesday. The ruling was consistent with the officials, who did not call a penalty on the play.

Ward jolted Rivers in the fourth quarter of the Steelers 38-10 victory over the Bengals, leaving Cincinnati’s first-round pick sprawled out on the field for a few minutes.

The block symbolized the toughness that marks Ward’s playing style. Despite being two inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than Rivers, Ward knocked him out of the game and the season with one jaw-breaking hit.