DETROIT – The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs got into a brawl following their matchup on Sunday Night Football.
Here’s everything we know.
What happened
As the final seconds ticked off the clock and the two sidelines flooded the field for postgame handshakes, Lions safety Brian Branch was walking past Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes raised his arm to shake Branch’s hand, but Branch walked past without reciprocating. It’s not clear what, if anything, was said by either player.
Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster appeared to witness the exchange and confront Branch. Branch instantly struck Smith-Schuster in the helmet.
That caused several players and coaches from both teams to rush over and get involved in the scuffle.
What Brian Branch said
While speaking with reporters after the game, Branch wasn’t overly apologetic. He suggested his frustrations stemmed from the Chiefs getting away with contact after the whistle.
“I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said. “Like, they be trying to bully me out there, and I don’t -- I should have never did it. It was childish.”
What Dan Campbell said
Lions head coach Dan Campbell made it clear during his postgame press conference that what Branch did was not acceptable.
“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologize to Coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs and Smith-Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here and it’s not going to be OK. He’s knows it. Our team knows it. So that’s not what we do.”
What Patrick Mahomes said
Mahomes was asked on the field about the confrontation during his postgame interview with the Sunday Night Football crew.
“We play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes said. “They can do all the extra-curricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles.”
Will Branch be suspended?
Nothing official has been announced, but it would be a surprise if Branch doesn’t get some sort of punishment for his role in the postgame skirmish.
Branch could face a large fine and even a suspension.
Losing Branch would be a major blow to an already beleaguered Lions secondary. Four of the team’s top six cornerbacks are out with injuries, and fellow starting safety Kerby Joseph is dealing with a bad knee.
The Lions are hosting the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week on Monday Night Football, so it would be bad timing to lose yet another key piece of the secondary.
Past Brian Branch controversy
This isn’t the first time Branch has been involved in controversy.
Last year during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, Branch was ejected for an illegal, very late hit on Bo Melton.
Branch vehemently argued his case after officials announced the ejection, and he flipped off Packers fans as he left the field.
The Lions went on to win that game, 24-14, and then ultimately swept the Packers later in the season.
Frustration with officials
The Lions were openly frustrated with the officiating during Sunday night’s loss to the Chiefs.
On their opening drive, the Lions ran a trick play pass from David Montgomery to Jared Goff that appeared to result in a fourth-down touchdown.
But during the Lions’ celebration, the officials dropped a late flag and deemed that Goff hadn’t established himself as a receiver before the snap, so the formation was illegal.
The Lions had to settle for a field goal. Goff said after the game that he was not aware of the rule that made the formation illegal, but it seems like the call was ultimately correct.
A pass interference call extended a Chiefs drive after Travis Kelce gestured for a flag, sparking more frustration from the fan base. It was questionable, but not an egregious call.
Aidan Hutchinson was called for a costly roughing the passer penalty that gave the Chiefs a first down near midfield instead of a third-and-long. Replay showed Hutchinson hitting Mahomes well after he had released the pass.
Joseph went on X immediately after the game and posted 12 times about the officials -- between retweets and his own posts. Those posts included several of the above-referenced plays, as well as an uncalled holding penalty by Kelce.
Lions loss
The loss dropped the Lions to 4-2 on the season and ended their four-game winning streak. They now trail the Packers by percentage points in the NFC North Division.