No red flags needed. Not on this day.

Neither Steelers coach Mike Tomlin nor Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable challenged an official’s call on the field Sunday at Heinz Field.

Instant replay never came into play.

The officiating certainly did.

The Steelers were whistled 14 times for 163 yards in penalties during their 35-3 win. They were actually flagged a few other times, but Oakland opted to take the play.

The 163 yards marked a team record, snapping the 153 yards the Steelers were penalized for during a 1989 game.

And this game Sunday wasn’t exactly one of brutal hits. Yeah, there was plenty of pushing and shoving going on and Oakland’s Richard Seymour bought himself an early shower by throwing a punch at Ben Roethlisberger.

But ugly hits on the quarterback, defenseless wide receivers being laid out, bodies strewn all over the field? Nah.

So why all the penalties?

LaMarr Woodley was flagged for roughing the quarterback despite pulling up. James Harrison was called for the same thing after following through with a tackle.

Ryan Clark was called for a helmet-to-helmet when it never happened. That was probably the hardest hit of the day, hence the yellow hankie.

Another Steeler was flagged for knocking someone from the pile.

I’m not even sure what that means. This stuff is out of control.

Officials don’t know what to call or when to call it anymore, so they just call everything.

Much like the NBA doesn’t play professional basketball— it plays it’s own brand of basketball — the NFL has become the same thing.

When postgame talk shows light up with fans asking questions about officiating in a 35-3 win for the home team, the NFL has a problem.

This league has become a circus.

First, cornerbacks weren’t allowed to cover receivers. Now safeties aren’t allowed to hit them.

First, pass rushers weren’t allowed to hit a quarterback hard. Now they’re not allowed to touch them.

When is a catch a catch? When is a fumble a fumble? And if you do something positive for your team on the field, for goodness sake, don’t try to celebrate it or exhibit joy in any way.

The striped shirts are watching you.

Where is this all going to end?

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle