Lions Coach Takes Full Accountability for Brian Branch’s Postgame Actions, Apologizes to Andy Reid and JuJu Smith-Schuster

Lions DB Brian Branch has developed a reputation as a controversial defender, already accumulating three fines this season.

Lions Coach Takes Full Accountability for Brian Branch’s Postgame Actions, Apologizes to Andy Reid and JuJu Smith-Schuster

Dan Campbell, Andy Reid, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brian Branch (Images via Bleacher Report/ Getty Images/ Forbes/ Newsweek)

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The Kansas City Chiefs played in vintage manner as they clamored to defeat the Detroit Lions on Sunday night in Week 6. The Chiefs, led by a strong offensive output centered around their star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, are now 3-3 on the season.

The Lions were considered strong opposition with four wins in their previous game. However, the scorebug didn’t favor them yesterday night and as one can imagine, the players were frustrated to lose an important game. And the frustration snowballed into uglier things when Lions safety Brian Branch launched into a fight after the end of the game.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chiefs’ wideout, was extending Branch a handshake when the latter struck him in the face. It was indeed uncalled for, and the escalation to violence was called out by fans. Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions’ head coach, also came out and criticized Branch’s behavior, calling it inexcusable and far from what the team stands for.

I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable. And it’s not gonna be accepted here. It’s not what we do, it’s not what we’re about.

Dan Campbell said in the post-game conference

He also apologized to Smith-Schuster and head coach Andy Reid. Furthermore, he also mentioned that the player will be held accountable for his antics on the field.

I apologize to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and, you know, [Smith-]Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. And it’s not gonna be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.

The tussle at the end involved more than Brian Branch, but it is expected that the league will charge Branch with a stricter fine as compared to the others. The league will consider the many camera angles available and decide which players to be fined and what levels of fine should be levied upon them.

Brian Branch takes accountability while defending himself in the process

Brian Branch also addressed the act in the post-game interview. The 23-year-old defensive back from Fayetteville, Georgia, admitted that his actions were childish and that he should have avoided that.

Brian Branch
Brian Branch (Image via Sports Illustrated)

However, Branch also pointed the finger at JuJu Smith-Schuster while also blaming the referees. The safety claimed that the Kansas City Chiefs’ wideout had hit him in the back on a play late in the game, and his reaction was a response to that. He added that there was a referee right in front of them while this happened, and that they didn’t take the necessary action.

Though he agreed that, despite that, he shouldn’t have done what he did.

I got blocked in the back illegally. And it was in front of the ref, and the ref didn’t do anything. And just stuff like that. I coulda got hurt off that, but I still should not have done that.

Brian Branch said

Bygones aren’t bygones always, and Brian Branch knows it all too well. He is bracing for the eleventh fine in the past two seasons. He racked up seven fines last season and three more already this year.

So far in 2025, he’s been penalized a total of $34,784 for an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. In addition to that, he has two unnecessary roughness violations, one for taunting, also versus the Packers, and another for a low block in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens.

He’s expected not just to be fined but also suspended for some games, according to NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The game fell on primetime, and thus a wider audience saw it on screens immediately, while the videos of the same went viral instantly. The tolerance would be at a minimal rate.

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