Things got heated between the Chiefs and Lions in the waning moments of their Week 6 showdown on Sunday Night Football, as a skirmish broke out on the field after Kansas City kneeled the ball to run out the clock.
Tempers flared when Lions defensive back Brian Branch walked over to the Chiefs' offense and appeared to reject a handshake from Patrick Mahomes. He then, rather unexpectedly, slapped JuJu Smith-Schuster across the face mask. Before long, players from both teams were being separated from one another in a horde on the field.
Just after that incident, Mahomes was interviewed on the field by NBC's Melissa Stark. He didn't appear to be too pleased.
When asked about what had just gone down after the game, Mahomes simply said, "We play the game between the whistles. They can do all the extra curricular stuff they want to do, but we just play the game in between the whistles."
NBC's Melissa Stark: "What just happened there at the end of the game?"
Patrick Mahomes: "I mean, we play the game in between the whistles. They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles." 🏈🎙️ #NFL https://t.co/pIkIXwPYP4 pic.twitter.com/TGGaQIUJDq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 13, 2025
The Chiefs improved to 3–3 on the season after defeating Detroit 30–17 and Mahomes had himself a vintage performance in prime time, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one without an interception.
The next test for Kansas City will be in Week 7 against the rival Raiders.
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