Lions’ Suh has 1-game suspension reduced to fine

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh won his appeal and had his one-game suspension overturned Tuesday, making him eligible to play in Sunday’s wild-card game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The decision didn’t seem to send too many shock waves through Valley Ranch, though.

“He’s a good player, we respect him, but we’re all professionals and we’re all ball players so we’re just going to play ball on Sunday,” left guard Ronald Leary said. “We didn’t worry too much about [the suspension].”

Instead of being suspended for Sunday’s game at AT&T Stadium, Suh must pay a fine of $70,000. He drew the suspension for stepping on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ injured left leg twice during last week’s regular-season finale.

Suh has been known for his dirty plays just as much as for being a dominant force in the middle of the Lions’ defensive line. He leads the team with 8 1/2 sacks and certainly will challenge the Cowboys to minimize his impact.

Cowboys defensive end Jeremy Mincey weighed in on the suspension, even though he won’t face Suh directly.

“Bring him on,” Mincey said after learning the suspension had been reversed. “Congratulations to him, but it’s not going to change our game plan, smash-mouth ball.

“We don’t want any excuses anyways. We’ve just got to go out and do what we do and do it great.”

On Monday, coach Jason Garrett had a similar message regarding Suh.

He acknowledged that Suh “has obviously been one of the better players at his position since he’s been in the league,” but tried to downplay the suspension.

As Garrett said repeatedly, the Cowboys try to focus on themselves.

“We understand what their scheme is, we understand what their personnel strengths and weaknesses are and we try to take full advantage of those within the context of what we do,” Garrett said. “It’s a good defensive unit, it’s a good defensive front. Whether or not he’s a part of it, I don’t know that, but we’re going to focus on ourselves and try to play our best ball.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2014 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Lions’ Suh has 1-game suspension reduced to fine."