“It’s Detroit…. Zero class” – 49ers fans accuse Lions safety Brian Branch of intentionally stepping on Brock Purdy’s knee during NFC Championship

Despite the incident, the Niners went ahead and scored two back-to-back running plays.

“It’s Detroit…. Zero class” – 49ers fans accuse Lions safety Brian Branch of intentionally stepping on Brock Purdy’s knee during NFC Championship

Lions safety Brian Branch of intentionally stepping on Brock Purdy's knee (Via X)

The San Francisco 49ers have reached Super Bowl LVIII. But the fans still aren’t over the NFC championship game. They made a blunt allegation against the Detroit Lions’ defensive back Brian Branch for stepping on quarterback Brock Purdy intentionally. 

Until the second half of the game, the Lions dominated the game with a 24-7 lead. But as the 49ers returned from the locker room, everything changed, and for fans, it appeared in the fourth quarter that DE Branch intended to hurt the Niners’ quarterback.

YouTube video

The incident took place with just five minutes remaining in the game when Purdy went ahead with a 21-yard scramble in the middle, proceeding down to the Lions’ 28-yard line. As he hit the ground, surrounding him were three players from Detroit-Branch: safety Kerby Joseph and defensive lineman Josh Paschal. 

FS Video

Though Joseph succeeded in stopping just in time as he reached the QB, his teammates Pascal and Branch couldn’t, resulting in the former tumbled over Purdy while the latter stepped over him. Interestingly, fans caught something controversial as they observed Branch slowing down before reaching the second-year quarterback, but he still took an assertive step over Purdy’s knee and then looked back at him. 

Fortunately for the quarterback, even if that had been intentional to cause him injury, it didn’t really affect him much. His team went ahead to score two back-to-back running plays, resulting in a 34-31 victory and a ticket to the Super Bowl. 

49ers fans blast at Brian Branch 

A Niners’ fan account posted the clip of that incident isolated on their social media and criticized the Lions’ safety as:

WHOAAA, Now That’s DIRTYYY.
Brock Purdy holding the NFC championship trophy
Brock Purdy holding the NFC championship trophy for a win over the Lions (Via CNN)

The reason why Branch doesn’t even have the benefit of the doubt in the eyes of fans is because earlier in the game he took a swipe at Jauna Jennings’ helmet but got away with it. 

Are we surprised? It’s Detroit…. Zero class” while another wrote, “Look at the way the right foot stomps. That’s extra effort.
One fan wrote

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

https://twitter.com/24lakers2/status/1752202010445935061

As it could have caused Purdy a serious injury and jeopardized his position to play in the Super Bowl, fans aren’t going to let Branch get away with this. 

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