Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley helping Lions win war in trenches

In the NFL, it's in the trenches where games are won or lost.

No team receives the kind of edge in the trenches that the Detroit Lions do, because that's where defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley do battle.

Through the first five weeks of the season, the Lions rank as the third-rated rush defense in all of football, according to Pro Football Focus. Suh sits at second amongst defensive tackles against the run, while Fairley ranks 15th.

Opposing quarterbacks haven't been able to avoid the duo's wrath. Each player ranks inside the top-11 amongst defensive tackles in PFF's pass rush evaluations, with Suh pacing all players at his position in quarterback hurries with 13.

Suh's play certainly hasn't gone unnoticed, as he was voted one of the "Top 100 Players of 2014," a list compiled based on the results of an off-season poll organized by the NFL in which players judge their peers based on their performance the previous season and how they believe the player will perform in the coming season.

The "Dirty Duo"

In advance of a meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers last November, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette labelled the Lions' brooding defensive tackles the "dirty duo," a moniker that stuck for obvious reasons.

Suh has been fined by the league on several occasions, including a whopping $100,000 hit for an illegal low block on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan, the largest fine in NFL history for on-field conduct, not including money lost due to suspensions.

Suh's aggressive style of play has been heavily criticized by both opposing players and the media. In a poll of his peers conducted by the Sporting News, Suh was named the "dirtiest player" in the NFL, something Jake Delhomme knows all too well.

As for Fairley, he came to town with a reputation as a nasty player after helping Auburn to a national title. It didn't take him long to earn his first fine, as he was docked $15,000 for this late hit on Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in his fourth game as a pro.

Growing Together

After using the second overall selection in the 2010 draft to bring in Suh, the Lions used their first round pick on a defensive tackle again the following year to add Fairley and pair two of the best young interior defensive linemen in football.

The move has paid off in spades, with opposing offenses forced to work their game plans around the duo.  

As they enter their prime and get in more snaps alongside one another, Suh and Fairley are only becoming better at imposing their will, which can be seen in the team's rank against the run since the players were first paired together.

* - Through Week 5

What's helped make them so dynamic is their complimentary style, and their willingness to help one another out.

When Fairley lost his starting job in the offseason, Suh remained in his corner, telling reporters he thinks Fairley has the kind of skill set that can make him one of the best at the position. 

“I haven’t said this a lot or to many people, more or less, but Nick is more athletically gifted than me." Suh said, according to Ashley Dunkak of CBS Detroit. "And he has an opportunity to be better than me, and that’s what I want to see out of him,”

Since then, Fairley has re-claimed his spot as a starter, using the demotion as a wakeup call.

"It brought me back down to earth. It humbled me," Fairley said, according to Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News. "I know that this team is going to move on with or without me, and I knew that. That's the kind of mindset that I got, and I was like, 'Hey, I want to be with this team. I want to move on with them.'"

Fairley has played meaner since then, a wonderful compliment to the energy and emotion Suh brings on every snap. 

With these two behemoths winning battles in the trenches, the Lions are set up the middle for years to come as the duo controls the interior of the defensive line like no other pair can.

Now they just need to work on their celebrations.

[Courtesy: Gawker]