Lions at Saints
THE STORY: The Detroit Lions are not expected to have Ndamukong Suh kicking anyone around, and that will leave a huge void in their defense when they visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night. With the 2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year likely to be suspended for at least one game, the Lions will be hard-pressed to keep Drew Brees and Co. from stomping on them. New Orleans is undefeated at home (5-0) and has won three straight games overall to maintain a one-game edge over Atlanta in the NFC South. Detroit has dropped four of season after opening the season with five consecutive victories.
TV: NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET. LINE: Saints -9, O/U 54.5
ABOUT THE LIONS (7-4): Detroit stayed close for a half before getting blown out in the third quarter by Green Bay on Thanksgiving. Suh’s ejection, for stomping on the arm of a Packer lineman, helped turn the game into a rout. RB Kevin Smith may be unavailable due to a high ankle sprain, and starting CB Chris Houston and S Louis Delmas are expected to sit out. That puts more pressure on the Matt Stafford-to-Calvin Johnson connection to produce points and keep pace with the Saints.
ABOUT THE SAINTS (8-3): Only Green Bay has scored more points than New Orleans, which is coming off a 49-24 thrashing of the New York Giants. Brees threw four scoring passes and ran for another in the romp. He has at least 20 completions in an NFL-record 31 straight games and has tossed a TD pass in 38 consecutive games – second only to Johnny Unitas (47). Jimmy Graham caught two TD passes and leads NFL tight ends in receptions (67) and yards (957).
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Brees threw a career-high six TD passes in a 45-27 win over the Lions in 2009. New Orleans has outscored Detroit 87-34 in the last two meetings.
2. Lions WR Johnson has a league-high 12 TD receptions. He’s only the third receiver (Lance Alworth, Jerry Rice) to reach that mark in three of their first five seasons.
3. One of the most memorable plays in NFL history occurred in a matchup between Detroit and New Orleans, when Tom Dempsey kicked a record 63-yard field goal in 1970 to give the Saints a 19-17 win.