Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell refuses to defend Brian Branch after he throws a punch at JuJu Smith-Schuster
Detroit were undone by Patrick Mahomes and frustrations spilled over
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell described Brian Branch’s post-game attack on JuJu Smith-Schuster as “inexcusable” and hinted at internal disciplinary action following the 30-17 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
Branch snubbed a high-five offer from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the end of the fourth quarter, prompting Smith-Schuster to have words with Branch, who then punched him in the facemask and knocked him to the ground.
Several other players attempted to wade in but not before Branch had ripped Smith-Schuster’s facemask off his head.
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Mahomes mastery downs Lions
It was an unsavoury ending to a brilliant display from the Chiefs, who moved to 3-3, thanks largely to Mahomes, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 passing yards and three TDs. He also had 31 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
“I love Brian Branch,” Campbell said, “but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”
Safety Branch admitted his part in the fracas but insisted he had been provoked by Smith-Schuster.
“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.”
Smith-Schuster was baffled by what happened. He said: “He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team. After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch.”
Lions outplayed by Kansas City
The performance and the post-game melee contributed to a disappointing night for the Lions who arrived at Arrowhead with a 4-1 record and looking to make a statement against the Chiefs.
“We just didn’t make the plays we needed to make,” added Campbell.
“We were able to do some good things in phases at times but not enough for a team like that with the pedigrees they have. We were not able to compliment each other and we were not able to make it a game, really. We weren’t.”