The Sunday Night Football showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions ended in chaos — and Patrick Mahomes was right in the middle of the melee.
After the Chiefs’ defeated the Lions 30-17 at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, October 12, Mahomes, 30, attempted to high-five Detroit safety Brian Branch as the teams began exiting the field.
Branch, 23, was not interested, and blew off the Chiefs quarterback.
Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster noticed Branch’s perceived slight and confronted him near midfield.
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Branch responded by striking Smith-Schuster, 28, in the facemask, which sent the Chiefs star to the ground.
Smith-Schuster immediately leapt up from the field and went after Branch, which caused members from both teams to converge in a highly-dramatic scene.
After the players were pulled apart, Smith-Schuster was left with a bloody nose and many were left puzzled at how things had gotten so out of hand.
“He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team,” Smith-Schuster told reporters of Branch . “After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch.”
Mahomes also addressed Branch’s actions during his postgame remarks on the field.
“I mean, we play the game in between the whistles,” the quarterback told NBC sideline reporter Melissa Stark. “They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do. But we play the game in between the whistles.”
During his postgame press conference, Mahomes added, “That’s a physical team, and they have a mentality that they come in to play with, and we’re going to match that mentality,” Mahomes said. “We’re not afraid to go up against anybody. That’s the mentality Coach [Andy] Reid brings every single day, and we’re going to match the intensity of whoever steps on that field.”
Reid, 67, was still trying to wrap his mind around what happened when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“The guy came up and hit JuJu for what looked like no reason,” Reid said. “That’s tough, and he did pretty good damage on JuJu’s nose.”
Branch explained he was upset with Smith-Schuster after he allegedly blocked him in the back toward the end of the game, which was not spotted by officials.
“I could’ve got hurt off of that play,” Branch said. “I still shouldn’t have done that.”
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Branch added, “It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”
The NFL has not announced any fines or suspensions for the players involved in the fight. Branch was fined $23,186 for face-masking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties last month after the Lions’ loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The win improved the Chiefs’ record to 3-3. Up next, they host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 19.
Meanwhile, the loss dropped the Lions to 4-2. Their next game is at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, October 20.
