Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh Wins Appeal On Suspension, Now Ready For Cowboys Matchup

Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh won his appeal before officer Ted Cottrell on his one-game suspension for stepping on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Cottrell reduced Suh's penalty to a $70,000 fine and he will now be available for Sunday's Wild Card tussle against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

The decision was reached on the basis that Suh was a first-time offender according to the repeat offender policy, modified in 2014, said NFL Media's Judy Battista. Suh earned a clean record after having played 32 straight games without a player-safety violation in a period that also covers the playoffs and the preseason.

The first-team All-Pro Suh has a lengthy record of player-safety violations, which included a 2011 incident where he stomped on the arm of Ex-Green Bay Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith that led to a two-game suspension. In 2012 he was fined $30,000 for kicking then-Houston Texans signal caller Matt Schaub in the groin. Since 2010, Suh has now accumulated eight safety violations that led to fines, including the one for the Rodgers incident.

Rodgers shared on WAUK-AM radio in Milwaukee, where he appears weekly, that he believed Suh deliberately attempted to hurt him.He noted that Suh's reaction after stepping on his leg is not consistent with someone innocent of wrongdoing as the latter was neither apologizing nor looking back at him and checking at what happened. Replays showed that after Suh knocked Rodgers over, the former took two steps backward and twice stepped on the injured portion of Rodgers' leg near the calf. Rodgers said on ESPN Radio, where he also appears weekly, that he thought his Achilles popped when Suh stepped on it.

Suh will team up with DeAndre Levy, one of the NFL's top linebackers, and emerging pass rusher Ziggy Ansah. The Lions also boast of one of NFL's best safety duos of Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo. They will be tested by a Cowboys offense that features NFL leading rusher DeMarco Murray, wide receiver Dez Bryant and quarterback Tony Romo. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have lost defensive tackle Henry Melton for the season while rookie linebacker Anthony Hitchens is dealing with an ankle sprain.