By Alex Valdes, Jesse Newell and Colton Pouncy
The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs fought hard on Sunday night. Even after the final whistle.
Several players from both teams scuffled on the field after the Chiefs’ 30-17 victory, starting with Detroit defensive back Brian Branch slapping the helmeted head of Kansas City receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Moments earlier, Branch had ignored a handshake from Patrick Mahomes as the two teams took the field, as is customary after NFL games.
As it appeared on the NBC broadcast, Smith-Schuster said something to Branch, which prompted Branch to slap Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster fell to the ground, then tackled Branch, with Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco trying to hold Branch back.
Things then got uglier, with Smith-Schuster, Pacheco, Branch and other players getting mixed up. Smith-Schuster later said he bled afterward. Mahomes ran toward the scrum and found himself under a pile of players before being pulled to safety.
Branch said he was angry after being blocked at fullback by Smith-Schuster late in the game.
“I did something a little childish, but I’m tired of people doing stuff between games and the referees not realizing it,” Branch said in the Lions locker room. “Like they were trying to intimidate me there. I should never have done it. It was childish.”
The play Branch was referring to occurred in the final minutes of the Chiefs’ win Sunday night, a running play up the middle.
“I was blocked illegally in the back and it was in front of the ref and the ref didn’t do anything, and just stuff like that,” Branch said. “I could have gotten hurt because of that. But I still shouldn’t have done that.
“There are a lot of things, but I should have sorted this out between the whistles, not after the match, and I apologize for that.”
Brian Branch after the Lions’ 30-17 loss to the Chiefs: pic.twitter.com/tsUSQljlBC
– Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) October 13, 2025
Smith-Schuster defended his block of Branch, saying: “I’m just blocking it, just doing my job. I played between the whistles, and after the match he took advantage of what he did.
“I expect to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game,’ and move in Pat’s direction. But he threw a punch, and at the end of the day, it’s a team sport, right? We came here. We did our job. We won. And that’s all that matters.
“But I know he’s a better player than that, a better person. So he’ll learn from his mistakes.”
After the game, Mahomes appeared to launch a not-so-subtle attack on the Lions’ actions.
“We play the game between the whistles,” the three-time Super Bowl champion said. “They can do all the extracurricular activities they want, but we play the game between the whistles, and I think we played a good game today. We’ll continue that momentum.
“At this point, it kind of is what it is,” Mahomes also said. “Just move on. We won the football game. I thought we did a great job and played well. But now we move on to the Raiders.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was unhappy with Branch’s actions.
“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it will not be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do, it’s not what we do. I apologized to Coach (Andy) Reid, to the Chiefs and to Schuster. It’s not OK. It’s not what we do here, and it’s not going to be okay. He knows it, our team knows it, so it’s just not what we do.”
Branch was penalized earlier this season for throwing Tucker Kraft’s helmet during a Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers, earning him a $23,186 fine. He was also ejected during a game last November against the Packers for being targeted. As he left the field, he knocked over Packers fans. He later apologized for his actions, which cost him $20,256 in fines.
