KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A long, frustrating night for the Detroit Lions inside Arrowhead Stadium ended with safety Brian Branch delivering a freehand strike to Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, sparking a brief fight between players from both teams.
After Kansas City’s 30-17 victory Sunday night, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attempted to give Branch a high-five as they met near midfield. Branch walked past Mahomes and Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster took umbrage with the decision, walking over to Branch and having a few words with him.
Branch responded by hitting Smith-Schuster with his mask, sending him to the ground.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff between games and the refs not understanding,” Branch said. “They’re trying to intimidate me there. I should never have done it. It was childish.”
Smith-Schuster jumped up and chased after Branch, who was playing through an ankle injury that had kept him out of practice most of the week. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get between them, but Branch managed to rip Smith-Schuster’s helmet off as dozens of players from both teams converged on the scrum.
“He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team,” Smith-Schuster said of Branch. “After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch.”
Branch said he was blocked in the back by Smith-Schuster late in the game in front of the referees and they didn’t respond.
“I could have gotten hurt from that play,” Branch said. “I still shouldn’t have done that.”
When asked what he thought motivated Branch’s actions, Smith-Schuster responded, “I mean, I just blocked him.”
“I’m just doing my job,” Smith-Schuster said. “I play between the whistles.”
Eventually, the coaches and players separated the games, and they eventually left the field for the locker rooms. Branch could face another hefty fine — he received $23,186 for face masking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Green Bay last month — and perhaps even a suspension.
“I love Brian Branch,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said, “but what he did is inexcusable and it will not be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not our job. I apologized to coach. [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. It’s not good. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to work. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”
Smith-Schuster left with a bloody nose.
“The guy came and hit JuJu for no reason,” Reid said. “It’s tough, and it did some serious damage to JuJu’s nose.”
Veteran Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader said he plans to talk to Branch once Sunday’s emotions have calmed down.
“We’ll have that conversation. It’s hard to have that conversation right now because everyone is trying to have the conversation,” Reader said. “I’m sure I’ll have a chance to talk to him, but it’s difficult because he has that edge for a reason as a player and you never want to take that away, but you also want him to be smart. Not just for us, but also for himself. To protect his money, to protect him.”
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Detroit, which was trying to achieve a rare feat by winning back-to-back games at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Lions allowed 355 total yards on offense, forced just one punt and didn’t make the stops they needed late in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance to come back.
Jared Goff finished with just 203 passing yards, although he threw touchdowns to Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta. Amon-Ra St. Brown was limited to 45 yards receiving. Jahmyr Gibbs needed 17 carries for 65 yards.
“They’re a physical team, and they have a mentality that they come to play with, and we’re going to match that mentality,” Mahomes said. “We’re not afraid to take on anyone. That’s the mentality Coach Reid brings every day, and we’re going to match the intensity of anyone who steps on that field.”
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard, Nate Taylor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
