DETROIT -- At first it seemed like a fun novelty -- 307-pound Ndamukong Suh lining up to kick an extra point for Detroit as the home crowd shouted his name.
Then Suh's kick hit the right upright. The Lions could have used that point later in the game.
Suh's miss came in the third quarter Sunday, moments after kicker Jason Hanson was injured. Detroit lost 23-20 in overtime to New York after the Jets tied the game on a last-second field goal.
"There's no question that Ndamukong is our backup field goal kicker," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's done it in practice. We have a lot of confidence that he could kick it. It put him in a difficult situation because he went out without any warmups. ... Probably should have called a timeout, given him time to get ready."
Suh, a rookie defensive lineman, grew up playing soccer. His kick had plenty of strength but wasn't quite straight enough, leaving the Lions ahead 13-10.
Hanson was playing his 295th game with Detroit, one fewer than the record Bruce Matthews set with the Tennessee Titans franchise for games played with one team. Hanson returned in the fourth quarter to kick an extra point, but punter Nick Harris handled kickoffs for the Lions in his place.
"He was able to go back in and kick an extra point, after getting his knee taped up and a bunch of other things," Schwartz said. "He couldn't have gone from very much farther than that."
Suh walked past a reporter who was seeking comment after the game.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
