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Dirty stomp earns Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola a suspension

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

Had Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola thought a little more clearly and not stomped on an opponent Sunday, he'd be playing this week when the Lions go for their first division title since 1993.

But, he couldn't help himself. Raiola stomped on Chicago Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson's leg and earned a one-game suspension from the NFL, according to numerous reports. The Lions will be without one of their best players for a game against the Green Bay Packers that will decide the NFC North title.

Raiola tried arguing that he didn't mean to stomp on Ferguson, but that's pretty hard to believe when you see it.

"It was totally unintentional," Raiola said, according to ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein. "I remember I was stumbling out. I didn't see the end of it. I apologized at the end of the game, told him it was unintentional and we shook hands and that was it."

When asked about it, Ferguson told ESPN.com, "Y'all saw the play." And there wasn't much left for interpretation.

This isn't Raiola's first anger-related incident this year. He dove at a Patriots player's knees on the last play of a blowout loss, basically because he was mad the Patriots kept trying to score. That should give you some sense of his overall state of mind.

Raiola wasn't suspended for that first incident. But he's going to sit a game for this one (he probably got off easy, because that was as dirty as it gets), and it's really a blow to his team.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!