Brian Branch had had enough of the Chiefs’ antics.
After the Lions lost to the Chiefs, 30-17, on Sunday night, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes attempted to shake hands with the stud safety when chaos erupted.
After refusing Mahomes’ handshake, Branch walked up to receiver Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster and slapped him, igniting a massive fight between the two teams.
Branch is likely to be punished in some form by the league, as NFL Network reported that his actions would be reviewed.
Video showed Branch being blindsided in the back by the veteran wide receiver on a first-down run play with 3:26 remaining when the game’s outcome was already pretty much decided.
Smith-Schuster came from the left sideline, crashing in and hit Branch from behind before stepping over him, shades of Allen Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals.
There was no flag thrown on the play, although there likely should have been.
Branch pointed to that play and said he “could’ve gotten hurt” while defending his actions after the game.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell called out his star defender for igniting the brawl.
“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell told reporters during his news conference. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about, and 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 knows it, our team knows it and so, that’s not what we do.”
Detroit can ill afford to lose Branch, as they are already down most of their secondary, as DJ Reed and Terion Arnold are expected to miss multiple weeks with injuries.
The Lions (4-2) next face the hottest team in the league in Week 7 when they battle the Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football.”