National Football League

Lions face tough test without Suh vs. Saints

Published Dec. 5, 2011 1:38 a.m. ET

foxsports

While suspended Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was sorting out the aftermath of his car wreck two time zones away, the battered Detroit Lions defense was bracing for a tough test against Drew Brees and the No. 1 offense in the NFL on Sunday night.

Suh, banned from having contact with his team while serving a two-game suspension, was back home in Portland over the weekend, where he was involved in a one-car accident.

The Lions referred all questions to Portland police, who've said in their report that Suh was unimpaired and cooperative after the 1970 Chevrolet veered out of control, hitting a curb, light pole, drinking fountain and a tree.

Suh was suspended for stomping on Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith's arm during Detroit's Thanksgiving Day loss to Green Bay.

That was the last thing the Lions (7-4), who have lost four of six games, needed as they traveled to New Orleans to meet the surging Saints (8-3).

''That's part of not having players, whether it's from an injury, which we have some injury situations, or a situation like this,'' Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. ''We'll get through it as a team, and when we get him back, we'll get back into the swing of things with him.''

New Orleans came in on a three-game winning streak and a 5-0 home record. Saints quarterback Drew Brees had not been sacked in three games and New Orleans came in league's best passing offense, averaging 324.2 yards per game.

Detroit was without three starting defensive backs, including starting safety Louis Delmas (right knee) and starting cornerback Chris Houston (left knee), so being without one of their top pass rushers in Suh, only made the task of slowing down Brees even tougher.

Suh, the 2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year, has three sacks this season among five tackles for losses. He has been credited with 31 tackles and eight quarterback hits.

Brees expected Detroit to miss Suh, but still field a formidable defensive front without him.

''He is one of the best defensive tackles in this league. Obviously, he brings a pretty physical presence,'' Brees said. ''I still think if you look across the board though, they've got a lot of talent and they have the ability to really get after the passer. They are a great group altogether.''

Brees said it was ''pretty obvious'' from replays of the stomping incident that Suh had done something to warrant some kind of punishment, but added that he never had a particularly bad impression of Suh before.

The quarterback once met Suh at an awards ceremony when Suh was coming out of college.

''He seemed like a really smart, intelligent guy. Nice guy,'' Brees recalled. ''Obviously, he is a defensive tackle, so all those guys have some nastiness to them in order to play that position. But I really don't know much about him other than that.''

All Brees knew is that he would not have to worry about Suh as he sought to lead the Saints to a fourth straight victory.