NFL's Emphasis on Officiating Dilutes Prime-Time Matchup Between 49ers and Bears

Yellow was the most prominent color featured on the field during the Chicago Bears' 28-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. 

The referees threw 26 flags in four quarters of action. Yes, you read that right: There were 26 penalties called on a nationally televised game. Some of those were the right calls, but that doesn't change the fact that this game was diluted thanks to a severe case of over-officiating.

Leading up to the start of the regular season, the NFL made it clear that it was taking a more hard-line stance when it came to defensive holding and illegal contact. Frustrated by this new approach, Christopher L. Gasper of The Boston Globe wrote, "The NFL has pledged allegiance to the flags and to one side of the football with its renewed emphasis on penalties for defensive holding and illegal contact. Defense hasn’t been outlawed, but it might as well be."

This is almost the NFL's version of "long-ball syndrome," another name for Major League Baseball's power surge during the late '90s. Has the league opted to call more penalties in order to increase the action on the field? If that was the mantra, it has backfired.

The Bears and 49ers may have had an outstanding finish thanks to Chicago cornerback Kyle Fuller's two interceptions and Jay Cutler's four touchdown passes, but the constant penalties slowed the game down to a crawl at times.

Bleacher Report's own Matt Miller shared his thoughts on what took place:

Don't get me wrong—Cutler and the Bears deserve to celebrate their monumental comeback win. Trailing 17-0 at one point, they scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in dramatic fashion. On top of that, their defense turned a corner in the second half, pressuring Colin Kaepernick and forcing him to make mistakes.

Cutler caught fire, linking up with tight end Martellus Bennett for a score and Brandon Marshall for three additional ones, including the game-winner with six minutes and 55 seconds left to play. He flat-out looked like a different quarterback in the second half.

The magic number for the 49ers tonight was 16. Not points, but penalties. Harbaugh's club was flagged 16 times for a staggering 118 yards. You aren't going to win football games in this league with those numbers.

You would think more penalties logically means that games will go on longer. Shockingly, Gasper pointed out that wasn't the case during the preseason even with the enhanced rules in place:

"

In an officiating video released to the media last Friday, Blandino said that through the first 17 preseason games, the time of the game had not changed significantly. It was 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 29 seconds last season. This year, it was 2:59.39. The Patriots-Eagles game clocked in at 3:11. Saints-Titans was 3:19.

"

Anyone who has attended any level of schooling understands that time can be a confusing thing. Even though each passing day is exactly the same, there are moments when you feel like everything is moving at a snail's pace. That was certainly the case tonight with all of the flags littered across the field like confetti.

Officiating has always been a hot-button topic in the NFL. Remember the replacement refs? How could you forget that train wreck?

With the league shifting its emphasis toward tighter on-field regulations, you can be sure that drum will beat loud and clear with each passing week.

Games have to flow better. It's vital for the health and future of this league. We may be living in a "cash-cow era," but the more convoluted these games get with penalties, the more fans will be turned off the product.

It'll never be perfect. Nothing in this world is. But finding a common ground for these calls so that we can reduce the amount of time we have to see the zebras make Jim Harbaugh turn bright red on the sidelines is an ideal starting point.

Like it or not, Sunday Night Football is our sport's grandest stage aside from the Super Bowl. Last week's broadcast between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts averaged a resounding 23.7 million viewers, according to TV by the Numbers. When 23 million people see a game with a ton of penalties stuffed into it, it's a bad look.

At this rate, the more penalties that get called, the more fans will begin to morph into the crowd from The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training. Soon, all we will hear is "let them play" chants ringing out from the stands across this great nation.

We still have 15 weeks of regular-season action left. Hopefully that means 15 weeks of beautiful football, not penaltyfest 2014. It's your move, NFL.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information courtesy of ESPN.com.