ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Amid yet another flap over his on-field conduct, Ndamukong Suh is making some accusations of his own.
The Detroit defensive lineman said Monday that Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan’s brief injury against the Lions was “karma” and hinted that the Falcons have been guilty of dirty play.
Ryan tweaked a knee when offensive lineman Will Svitek stepped on his left ankle, but he came back in the game a short while later and helped Atlanta beat the Lions 23-16 on Sunday.
“To me it’s karma for all the bad stuff they’ve done in the past,” Suh said. “Their offensive lineman hurt their own quarterback.”
Atlanta players told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after that game that Suh and fellow defensive lineman Cliff Avril taunted Ryan while he was down.
Avril didn’t talk to reporters when Detroit’s locker room was open Monday, but Suh did.
“There’s many, many, many plays that I can go back to on film that I watched all week that their offensive line has done, that they’ve been coached to do, as far as I know,” Suh said.
Atlanta coach Mike Smith downplayed the controversy.
“There’s a lot of things said between the sidelines and know this: That was a physical, tough football game between two, I think very aggressive, teams — probably the most physical game that we’ve played to this point,” Smith said.
Redskins battle injuries.
From healthy, first-place surprise to battered and struggling, the Washington Redskins had their fortunes take another dive when running back Tim Hightower was declared out for the season with a torn knee ligament and receiver Santana Moss underwent hand surgery that is expected to sideline him for five to seven weeks.
That makes five starters lost to significant injuries over the past two weeks, coinciding with a two-game losing streak.
Footnotes.
Already thin at cornerback, Seattle lost second-year starter Walter Thurmond to a broken fibula and serious ankle injury.
• Green Bay Packers rookie running back Alex Green is out for the season after injuring his knee during Sunday’s victory at Minnesota.
• St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo says Sam Bradford remains in a walking boot and he wasn’t sure of the quarterback’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Saints.
The Associated Press
