When the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers square off in their twice-a-season AFC North rivalry, the officials always seem to get a flag-throwing workout and the teams' trainers spend about as much time on the field as the players.
Their meeting on Monday night was no exception, with the Bengals ringing up a team-record 173 yards in penalties and two players leaving the game on stretchers.
The Steelers added 66 yards to the penalty total, and the flags included four for unnecessary roughness and one apiece for roughing the passer, unsportsmanlike conduct and taunting.
But the usual bad blood between the Bengals and Steelers had a sickening layer added when Pittsburgh linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered what appeared to be a back injury in the first quarter.