The Chiefs seem to have finally found their groove after rolling to a big win over the Lions on Sunday night, one unfortunately marred by Lions' Brian Branch starting a postgame fight with JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Following the final whistle, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes stuck out his hand for a handshake with Branch, but Branch ignored him. The Lions safety then went over to Smith-Schuster and slapped him in the face, igniting a postgame scuffle between the two sides.
Branch apologized after the scuffle and called his own actions "childish." However, he also suggested that the refs had missed some calls on the Chiefs (Kansas City didn't receive a single penalty all game): "I'm tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don't catch it. They were trying to bully me out there."
One moment that has resurfaced in light of Branch's comments is Mahomes seeming to taunt Branch after rushing for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Mahomes got a little extra shove from Branch as he crossed the goal-line, and he immediately turned around to spin the ball at the Lions defender. He then pointed at Branch and made a gesture of brushing off his jersey:
The fake lateral
The spin
The point on Branch
The flex
Mahomes is FEELING himself #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/5SeYqmxsKZ
— SleeperChiefs (@SleeperChiefsKC) October 13, 2025
This specific moment probably wasn't what Branch got riled up about after the game, but it may have added to the Lions defender's general frustrations following the 30-17 loss. Branch was scolded by his own coaches for his postgame antics and will likely receive a fine or worse in the coming days.
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