Detroit Lions reflect on 'brutal honesty' of who they are heading into playoffsALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have been saddled with negative storylines for more than a week, with suspensions to Dominic Raiola and Ndamukong Suh bookending a loss against the Green Bay Packers in the division championship game.
But the Lions dodged a bullet Tuesday when Suh's one-game suspension was overturned by a neutral arbitrator. They'll have their best defensive player Sunday when they open the postseason in Dallas against the Cowboys (4:40 p.m., Fox).
Now, with Suh's ordeal behind him, the Lions can finally focus on football rather than the drama. They begin preparations Wednesday afternoon when they hold their first practice of the week in Allen Park.
"One of the big things with this time of year, the postseason, you've got to be able to certainly turn the page, look ahead, get refocused -- but yet, not run away from the brutal honesty of where you are too," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "It gives you a chance still to address some of the issues that you might have."
The Lions' issues are on the field as well as off. Their offense finished the regular season 19th in yards (340.8) and 22nd in points (20.1).
Detroit went 1-4 against playoff teams this year, and averaged just 10.2 points in those games.
"I don't know," left guard Rob Sims said, when asked what Detroit must do to get its offense working. "I don't know. I don't know. We keep working toward it, and we'll get there."
The Lions' offense does catch a break against Dallas, which ranked just 19th in total defense during the regular season and has lost star defensive tackle Henry Melton for the playoffs due to a knee injury. But they won't get any favors on the other side of the ball.
The Cowboys (12-4) feature one of the NFL's most dangerous offenses with their new Big Three of quarterback Tony Romo, receiver Dez Bryant and tailback DeMarco Murray. Romo completed 74.8 percent of his passes in December, a league high. He connected on nearly 70 percent of his passes for the season and finished with an NFL-best passer rating of 113.2. Bryant, his top wideout, caught 16 touchdowns himself. That was three more than anyone else this season, and broke Terrell Owens' franchise record.
Despite Romo's ascent into MVP consideration, and Bryant's record-setting year, Murray might be Dallas' most dangerous player right now. He led the NFL in rushing with 1,845 yards. He averaged 115.3 yards per game, which blew away the field. Only Houston's Arian Foster was within 30 yards of him, and he still had only 95.8.
"I'm not certain that we've seen a more complete team," Caldwell said. "Just in terms of how explosive they are, the quarterback is certainly a strong MVP candidate, so is Murray. They've been able to run the ball extremely well, they've been lighting it up on the outside. Dez Bryant is setting record after record in terms of touchdown catches.
"They have one of the best tight ends in the business. They have an offensive line that's incredible, in terms of what they've been able to accomplish. You know, all across the board this is a very, very good team."