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Brian Branch has been suspended by the NFL for one game without pay for his actions following the Lions‘ loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night. The Lions’ Pro Bowl defensive back initiated a fight between the two teams immediately following the Chiefs’ 30-17 win when he punched Kansas City wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Branch, who will miss the Lions’ upcoming home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football,” stands to lose $76,624 for one one-game suspension. He is planning to appeal said suspension, according to NFL Media.
Branch attributed his actions postgame to building frustration with Smith-Schuster during Sunday night’s game.
“I did a real childish thing,” Branch said. “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.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell called Branch’s actions “inexcusable” during his postgame press conference. He also apologized to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who said during his postgame presser that Branch had some some “pretty good damage” to Smith-Schuster’s nose without getting into specifics.
“You guys saw it,” Reid said. “The guy came up and hit JuJu for what looked like no reason.”
Lions DB Brian Branch expresses remorse after fight with Chiefs WR Juju Smith-Schuster
Brad Crawford
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomeswho attempted to shake Branch’s hand prior to things going awry, didn’t hold back when asked about what happened immediately after the game.
“We play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes told NBC Sports. “They can do all the extra curricular stuff in between the whistles. I thought we played a great game today. And we’ll keep this momentum moving forward.”
Now in his third season, this is already the 14th time Branch has been fined by the NFLand the fourth time he has been fined this season. Branch’s previous fined cost him nearly $130,000 in salary.
Assuming his suspension holds up, Branch will not be available for Detroit’s playoff rematch against the Buccaneers. Branch’s absence is an obvious blow for the Lions, who have the unenviable task of trying to slow down Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. The early frontrunner for league MVP has thrown 12 touchdowns and just one interception in Tampa Bay’s first six games.
