Dan Campbell apologizes for Brian Branch after the Lions player's 'inexcusable' incident vs the Chiefs, which saw him hit JuJu Smith-Schuster and ignited a massive brawl between the two teams
01:08 ET, 13 Oct 2025
Dan Campbell admitted he apologized to Andy Reid and JuJu Smith-Schuster following the postgame fracas
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Dan Campbell admitted he apologized to Andy Reid and JuJu Smith-Schuster following the postgame fracas(Image: YouTube: @Detroit Lions)
Dan Campbell revealed to reporters that he apologized to Andy Reid and JuJu Smith-Schuster after Brian Branch's shot to the wide receiver ignited a massive brawl.
With time running out and the game out of hand, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions lined up to shake hands to commemorate a hard-fought game. As players from both sides were shaking hands, Branch walked past Kareem Hunt and Patrick Mahomes - as both players tried to shake his hand - and punched Smith-Schuster.
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The two men continued to grapple on the grass as players from both teams attempted to break up the fracas. Of note, Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark were both on hand to witness the carnage as the two stars took in the Chiefs' third win of the season.
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After the game, Campbell told reporters that he sought out members of the Chiefs organization to apologize for Branch's cheap shot at the end of the game. "Let me start with this. I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable. And it's not going to be accepted here," Campbell began.
"It's not what we do. It's not what we're about. I apologized to Coach Reid and the Chiefs and you know, 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. And so that's not what we do."
Reid also spoke on the incident, though he responded more subduedly. "Now, you guys saw," the Chiefs head coach said to reporters after the win. "The guy came up and hit JuJu.
Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions speaks to Brian Branch #32 after the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri
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Brian Branch (L) was involved in an alteration after the Detroit Lions' 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs(Image: Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
"For a while, it looked like for no reason. We were taking a knee, so you know, that's tough. I mean, put pretty good damage on JuJu's nose." Mahomes also chimed in with his thoughts when talking to NBC Sports after the win.
"We play the game in between the whistles," he said when asked about the kerfuffle. "They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game in between the whistles. We thought we played a great game today, and we’ll keep this momentum moving forward."
Regarding how the game was played, Mahomes also shared what was going through his mind as he watched the Lions and his teammates clash throughout the game.
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"I mean, you're playing football," he told reporters after Kansas City's impressive win over Detroit to improve to 3-3 on the season.
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"You're being chippy. That's a physical football team, and they have a mentality that they come in to play with, and we're gonna match that mentality. We're not afraid to go up against anybody.
"I mean, that's the mentality Coach Reid brings every single day and we're gonna match the intensity of whoever's on the football field."
The Chiefs are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Lions will match up against the streaking Tampa Bay Buccaneers.