NFL locker rooms often are literally divided into two factions with one rule: One does not talk about the other.
But that didn't matter in the Lions' locker room at Ford Field on Sunday after their 37-25 victory over Washington.All anyone wanted to talk about was the Lions' defensive line. Offense, defense, special teams, water boy -- anyone asked was ready to give an opinion about the stellar play and seven sacks the revamped unit produced.
Even receiver Calvin Johnson, who had a career-best three touchdown catches, offered his unsolicited praise of the defensive line while he was explaining the difference that allowed the team to rally from a five-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter.
"We've got a fresh, new team," Johnson said. "We've got different motors out here."
Johnson paused for a second and chuckled.
"And we've got a hell of a defensive line, you know?" he said. "A lot of the reasons we are where we are is because they're out there causing a lot of havoc, getting pressure on the quarterback."
And there was one player who especially wreaked havoc. Rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had another monster game with two sacks and a fumble recovery he returned for a 17-yard touchdown. Suh's 61/2 sacks are the best among rookies and defensive tackles.
"Man, he's a freak," receiver Nate Burleson said. "He's physically something that most teams are not ready for."
But the Lions certainly were. They moved their defensive linemen around at the line of scrimmage, were judicious with blitzes and stayed out of penalty trouble.
"I think that we are an elite group that wants to continue to prove," Suh said. "The only way of doing that is going out there and getting after that quarterback and getting after the running back when they run the ball."
Suh's score marked the first time a Lions defensive lineman returned a fumble for a TD since Bob Bell went 25 yards to score on Nov. 1, 1971.
But it nearly didn't happen, because Suh started to celebrate prematurely and was hit from behind by receiver Santana Moss.
"I came close to having a heart attack a lot of times in my life, but that was one of them," coach Jim Schwartz said.
Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who had two sacks, said Suh's performance only confirmed what he already knew.
"I hate to use superlatives, but he's one of the best in the game," Vanden Bosch said. "It's hard to argue that."
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