Chiefs-Lions postgame fight: Brian Branch suspended after punching JuJu Smith-Schuster

The NFL has suspended Detroit Lions (4-2) safety Brian Branch one game without pay for his role in the postgame altercation with Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster on Sunday night. Branch will be absent from Detroit’s Week 7 home contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) next Monday night.

The incident came about after Branch declined a postgame handshake from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Moments later, after Smith-Schuster began jawing at him, Branch took a swing at the Chiefs wideout. The fight was on from there, players from both teams rushing in to break it up.

NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote to Branch, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network: “Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”

The initial punch from Branch appeared to have dome some damage to Smith-Schuster. Video afterward showed Smith-Schuster walking back to the locker room holding a towel over his face. Lions head coach Dan Campbell called Branch’s actions “inexcusable.”

“I love Brian Branch but what he did was inexcusable and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do, it’s not what we’re about. 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. So, that’s not what we do.”

Brian Branch: ‘I did a real childish thing’

Branch, 23, apologized for his actions after the game. He said that Smith-Schuster hit him in the back on a play late in the game, leading to his response after Kansas City’s 30-17 win.

“I did a real childish thing,” Branch said, via The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy. “I’m tired of people doing stuff in between plays and refs don’t catch it. They be trying to bully me out there. I shouldn’t have did it, it was childish.”

Branch is no stranger to discipline from the NFL. He was fined seven times in 2024 and has already drawn three more this season. Branch has 33 tackles this season, fourth-most on Detroit’s defense. The Lions are already down their top cornerbacks in D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold. Now, they’ll be without Branch for a Monday Night Football showdown against the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.