Nick Fairley hurts knee vs. Falcons

— -- LONDON -- The Detroit Lions are down another defensive tackle.

Starter Nick Fairley was ruled out of Sunday's 22-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons with a knee injury suffered in the second quarter. He had to be helped off the field by trainers and a teammate. Fairley could barely walk on the leg and was carted to the locker room.

The Lions were left in a depth crunch at defensive tackle without Fairley. The Lions sent C.J. Mosley home on Saturday for an unspecified violation of team rules. Mosley would have been the replacement for Fairley in the lineup.

Fairley's injury left the Lions with only two healthy defensive tackles: Ndamukong Suh and rookie Caraun Reid, a fifth-round pick from Princeton.

Coach Jim Caldwell wasn't certain if Fairley's injury was season-ending.

"I'm not quite certain where he is right now in that sense but obviously when you have to carry him off the field, it's not the greatest news," Caldwell said after the game. "But we'll see what the doctors say about it."

Said Suh: "I just saw him grab his leg and it kind of went from there. There's so many things going on, it's so fast, I just saw him grab his leg and that's it. I'm not sure."

Despite losing Fairley, the Lions rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to beat the Falcons, 22-21.