Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell refuses to defend Brian Branch after throwing punch at JuJu Smith-Schuster
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell called Brian Branch’s attack on JuJu Smith-Schuster after the game “inexcusable” and hinted at internal disciplinary action following Sunday night’s 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Branch snubbed a high-five offer from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes late in the fourth quarter, prompting Smith-Schuster to talk with Branch, who then punched him in the facemask and knocked him to the ground.
Several other players attempted to enter, but not before Branch ripped Smith-Schuster’s mask off his head.
Mahomes mastery beats Lions
It was an unsavory end to a brilliant performance by the Chiefs, who improved to 3-3, thanks in large part to Mahomes, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also had 31 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
“I love Brian Branch,” Campbell said, “but what he did is inexcusable and it will not be accepted here. That’s not what we do. That’s not our goal. I apologized to coach. [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. It’s not good. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to work. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.
Safety Branch admitted its role in the fight, but insisted it was instigated by Smith-Schuster.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff between games and the refs not understanding,” Branch said. “They’re trying to intimidate me there. I should never have done 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 match, I expected to shake his hand and say, “Good game.” But he threw a punch.
The Lions dominated by Kansas City
The performance and postgame scrum contributed to a disappointing night for the Lions who came into 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,” Campbell added.
“We were able to do good things in phases at times, but not enough for a team like that with the pedigrees they have. We couldn’t compliment ourselves and we couldn’t really make a game out of it. We didn’t.”
