When the Lions visited New Orleans during the regular season, they were at far less than 100 percent. That won’t be the case in Saturday’s playoff rematch.
Every player on the active roster was healthy and ready to go at today’s practice in Detroit, a good sign for the Lions heading into the postseason.
It was a lot different in the regular season for the Lions: Ndamukong Suh was suspended, and his replacement in the starting lineup, Nick Fairley, aggravated a foot injury and left the game early. Two starters in the secondary, safety Louis Delmas and cornerback Chris Houston, missed the game with injuries. Running back Kevin Smith played but was hampered by an ankle injury.
All of those players will be active for Saturday in New Orleans. The Lions are heavy underdogs, but they should be a better team in the wild card round of the playoffs than they were late in the regular season.