Here’s what Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster & Lions’ Branch said about their skirmish
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mahomes offered a handshake; Branch slapped JuJu’s helmet, sparking a brief scuffle.
- Lions coach called the act inexcusable; Branch apologized and called it childish.
- Chiefs won 30-17; Smith-Schuster said Branch acted out of frustration over uncalled plays.
With the final seconds ticking away and the Chiefs’ 30-17 triumph over the Detroit Lions sealed, KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes was looking to shake the hand of Lions safety Brian Branch.
The exchange didn’t happen. Instead, Mahomes patted Branch on the shoulder pad.
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was behind Mahomes at that moment and Branch started walking toward him. Smith-Schuster stuck out his hand, too.
Branch slapped him on the side of the helmet.
Smith-Schuster tumbled backward to the ground, jumped up and went after Branch. But Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco got to Branch first. Players and officials from both teams gathered to break up the skirmish, which lasted a few seconds.
Here’s what Smith-Schuster said about the incident in the locker room afterward.
“At the end of the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game,’” Smith-Schuster said. “He threw a punch.
“At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. We came out here, did our job and we won, and that’s all that matters.”
Smith-Schuster said he thinks Branch was frustrated by the loss. Detroit entered the game as the NFL’s hottest team, with four straight victories. Sunday marked the Lions’ first loss since their opening game against the Green Bay Packers.
“He was frustrated for sure,” said Smith-Schuster, who suffered a bloodied nose in the incident.
He was holding a towel to his nose as he entered the locker room.
Smith-Schuster said there was plenty of talk between players on both teams during the game, but he noted that such vitriol shouldn’t carry over to the postgame scene.
“You play between the lines,” Smith-Schuster said. “Of course you’re going to have some chatter. People are going to talk; that’s part of the game. But that’s between the whistles. Pads on pads.
“I know he (Branch) is a better player than that, a better person.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell called Branch’s action “inexcusable” and addressed the incident to open his postgame news conference.
“I love Brian Branch,” Campbell said. “But what he did is inexcusable. It’s not what we do, it’s not what we’re about.
“I apologize to Coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs and (Smith-Schuster). That’s not OK; that’s not what we do here. He knows it and our team knows it.”
Asked about the incident during his own postgame news conference, Reid said: “(Branch) came up and hit JuJu, for what looked like no good reason.”
Branch called his actions “childish” and admitted to some frustrating moments during the game.
“I did a little childish thing,” Branch said. “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 shouldn’t have done it.”
Citing an example, Branch said he was blocked in the back on one play, but the Chiefs weren’t penalized. The Chiefs, in fact, weren’t called for any penalties in the game.
“I should have showed (frustration) between the whistles, not after the game, and I apologize for that,” Branch said.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Here’s what Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster & Lions’ Branch said about their skirmish."