RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett weighed in on the Ndamukong Suh situation, saying defensive linemen are treated differently than other players in the NFL.

"But if I get knocked to the ground, the referee just steps over me and says, 'That's part of the game.' If Peyton Manning falls to the ground, the referee helps him get up. I thought everybody was equal, but that's a lie."

Suh, a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, had his one-game suspension for stepping on the leg of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers overturned after an appeal. He instead was fined $70,000.

"This is a fantasy football league,'' Bennett said Wednesday. "That's how it's set up now. You take the play that Suh did. He did step on somebody's foot, but he gets fined because it's the quarterback. As a defensive lineman, people are always stepping on you. People always are hitting you in the head. There's always something happening to you, but nobody cares because we're defensive linemen."

Bennett said the rules are skewed in the favor of offensive players.

"You can't touch a quarterback here, can't put your hand on a receiver there,'' he said. "You have to let them run free.

"But if I get knocked to the ground, the referee just steps over me and says, 'That's part of the game.' If Peyton Manning falls to the ground, the referee helps him get up. I thought everybody was equal, but that's a lie."