https://sports.yahoo.com/article/smith-schuster-left-bloody-nose-124829958.html
The Detroit Lions’ matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs was expected to be feisty, but few thought it would end in a literal fight on Sunday night.
The Chiefs had started the season poorly, by their high standards, and were coming off a painful loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. But they dominated the Lions, who have suffered a string of injuries to their defense, on both sides of the ball to secure a 30-17 victory and move to 3-3 for the season.
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But the evening ended with players from both teams flooding the field after a fight started for the most petty of reasons. Lions safety Brian Branch refused to return a handshake from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes after the game ended. Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster took exception to the slight and exchanged words with Branch, who sent him to the ground with a shove to the face. Dozens of players then converged in a scrum as the scrap continued with Branch managing to dislodge Smith-Schuster’s helmet.
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“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 and I don’t – I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Branch, who was fined for face-masking and unsportsmanlike conduct in a game against the Green Bay Packers last month, was in the wrong.
“I love Brian Branch,” Campbell said, “but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to [Chiefs coach Andy Reid] and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”
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Reid said Smith-Schuster was left with a bloody nose after the incident. “The guy came up and hit JuJu for what looked like no reason,” Reid said. “That’s tough. But pretty good damage on JuJu’s nose.”
Branch’s frustration may have stemmed from a no-call when Smith-Schuster appeared to illegally block the safety in the back. There was also a notable decision early in the game when the Lions had a touchdown ruled out. Detroit thought they had scored – and gone up 7-0 – when quarterback Jared Goff caught a touchdown pass from running back David Montgomery. But, despite the fact that no flag had been thrown, the officials ruled it out for illegal motion and the Lions had to settle for a field goal.
“It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree [with the penalty],” Campbell, whose team are 4-2 after the loss, said. “They said he never stopped. He stayed in motion. You can’t stay in motion. But that had no bearing on the game. We lost by 13 points.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/smith-schuster-left-bloody-nose-124829958.html
