By Alex Valdes, Jesse Newell and Colton Pouncy <\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs fought hard Sunday night. Even after the final whistle.<\/p>\n
Several players from both teams scuffled on the field following the Chiefs\u2019 30-17 victory, beginning when Detroit defensive back Brian Branch started it off by slapping the helmeted head of Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. A few moments earlier, Branch had ignored a Patrick Mahomes handshake as both teams filed onto the field, as is usual after NFL games.<\/p>\n
Detroit defensive back Brian Branch started it off by slapping the helmeted head of Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. A few moments earlier, Branch had ignored a Mahomes handshake as both teams filed onto the field, as is usual after NFL games.<\/p>\n
As it appeared on the NBC broadcast, Smith-Schuster said something to Branch, prompting Branch to slap Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster fell to the ground, then went after Branch, with Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco trying to hold Branch back.<\/p>\n
Things then got uglier<\/a>, with Smith-Schuster, Pacheco, Branch and other players mixing it up. Mahomes \u2014 certainly giving Chiefs fans a fright \u2014 ran over to the scrum and wound up under a pile of players before being pulled to safety. Smith-Schuster later said he was bleeding afterwards.<\/p>\n After the game, Branch said he was angry after being blocked in the back by Smith-Schuster earlier in the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI did a little childish thing but I\u2019m tired of people doing stuff in between a play and refs don\u2019t catch it,\u201d Branch said in the Lions\u2019 locker room. \u201cLike them trying to bully me out there. Should\u2019ve never did it. It was childish.\u201d<\/p>\n The play Branch was referring to occurred in the waning minutes<\/a> of the Chiefs\u2019 victory Sunday night, a running play up the middle.<\/p>\n \u201cI got blocked in the back illegally and it was in front of the ref and the ref didn\u2019t do anything and just stuff like that,\u201d Branch said. \u201cI could\u2019ve got hurt off of that. But I still should not have done that.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stuff but I should\u2019ve settled it between the whistles, not after the game, and I apologize for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Branch after the Lions\u2019 30-17 loss to the Chiefs: pic.twitter.com\/tsUSQljlBC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) October 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Smith-Schuster defended his block of Branch, saying, \u201cMe just blocking him, just doing my job. I played between the whistles, and after the game, he took advantage of what he did.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect to shake his hand and say, \u2018Good game\u2019 and move Pat\u2019s way. But he threw a punch, and at the end of the day, it\u2019s a team sport, right? We came out here. We did our job. We won. And that\u2019s all that matters.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I know he\u2019s a better player than that, a better person. So he\u2019ll learn from his mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n After the game, Mahomes appeared to take a not-so-subtle jab at the Lions\u2019 antics.<\/p>\n \u201cWe play the game in between the whistles,\u201d the three-time Super Bowl champion said. \u201cThey can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles, and I thought we played a great game today. We\u2019ll keep this momentum moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point, it just kind of is what it is,\u201d Mahomes also said. \u201cYou just move on. We won the football game. I thought we did a great job and played well. But now, we\u2019re onto the Raiders.\u201d<\/p>\n Lions coach Dan Campbell said he wasn\u2019t thrilled with Branch\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it\u2019s not gonna be accepted here,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cIt\u2019s not what we do, it\u2019s not what we\u2019re about. I apologized to coach Reid and the Chiefs and Schuster. That\u2019s not OK. That\u2019s not what we do here, and it\u2019s not gonna be OK. He knows it, our team knows it, so, that\u2019s just not what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Branch got into some trouble earlier, this season, chucking Tucker Kraft\u2019s helmet<\/a> in a Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers.<\/p>\n