Brian Branch Says Slapping JuJu Was 'Childish... They Be Trying to Bully Me Out There'

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch expressed regret for striking Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster following his team's 30-17 loss on Sunday night.

"It was a childish thing, but I'm tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don't catch it," Branch told reporters after the game. "They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish."

Players from both teams were congregating on the field as the clocked ticked down. Smith-Schuster seemed to take exception when Branch didn't want to shake hands with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Branch then approaches Smith-Schuster and hits him in the helmet with an open hand.

As expected, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday morning on SportsCenter that the NFL is reviewing the incident and that a suspension is possible.

"This is exactly the type of situation that the NFL never wants to have. It never wants to have in a standalone game. It never wants it in a standalone game on a Sunday night," Schefter said on SportsCenter. "And yes, the league will review the incident. And I am told that determinations on discipline will be made. So, at the very least, there will be fines, certainly possible suspension. And we'll see how this plays out through the course of the week. But I would think that we should get word later today or tomorrow."

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters he personally apologized to the Chiefs for what went down.

"Let me start with this: I love Brian Branch but what he did is inexcusable and it's not going to be accepted," the coach said. "It's not what we do, it's not what we're about. I apologize to Coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs and Schuster. That's not OK. That's not what we do here and it's not going to be OK. He knows it, our team knows it, so that's not what we do."

Branch explained his frustration toward Smith-Schuster had been building during the game and singled out one block in particular that drew his ire. He said the Chiefs wideout blocked him in the back in the final minutes, which didn't draw a flag.

Perhaps the moment in question, Smith-Schuster floored Branch with a crackback block at the 3:25 mark of the fourth quarter.

The ninth-year receiver received a one-game suspension in 2017 for a crackback on Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. In 2023, the NFL levied a small fine for a blindside block on New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley.

Smith-Schuster presumably won't be subject to any retrospective action from the league based on what unfolded Sunday.

For the Lions, a suspension to Branch would be costly when they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a red-hot Baker Mayfield in Week 7.