The end of Sunday’s NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions was marred when a fight involving Lions safety Brian Branch and Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster boiled over. Branch shoved Smith-Schuster to the ground, kicking off a fracas between both teams.
Afterward, the NFL suspended Branch for one game without pay, which he appealed, but the league upheld the suspension.
A Lions-Chiefs fight breaks out as the clock is running out on SNF.
“The league’s gonna take action on that one against (Brian) Branch.” – Cris Collinsworth #NFL #SNF pic.twitter.com/axfzYqp6MJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 13, 2025
On Thursday, NFL Films added insult to injury with a video as a part of their NFL Turning Point online show in partnership with ESPN. The video, which was later deleted, attempted to provide context for Branch’s frustrating night but ultimately came across as insulting to Lions fans and others. The footage shows Branch being beaten on defense several times and missing tackles before showing Smith-Schuster throw an illegal block from the back, which Branch would later claim was the actual impetus for the brawl.
The footage was accompanied by a voiceover from ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick, which emphasized that Branch had played poorly in the game leading up to the fight.
“It was a long game for Lions safety Brian Branch, number 32,” said Riddick. “He got burned by (Travis) Kelce’s basketball move. He got showed up by (Patrick) Mahomes. He got juked by Xavier Worthy, and took a shot from JuJu Smith-Schuster. The turning point led to Branch’s boiling point.”
Nah, nah, nah. You don’t get to put the toothpaste back in the tube, NFL.
Here’s their weird-energy video insulting Brian Branch. pic.twitter.com/8wkqibeHKB
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) October 16, 2025
Presumably due to backlash, the video was deleted.
On Friday, both NFL Films and Riddick released statements regarding the presentation.
Statement from the NFL on the deleted tweet: https://t.co/UFfav8SZRb pic.twitter.com/rJvSHpKbOS
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) October 17, 2025
“NFL Films wants all of its shows to have a distinct voice and point of view,” read the NFL Films statement. “In the case of ‘NFL Turning Point,’ that voice and point of view is Louis Riddick’s. He spends time every week with the show’s producers watching each segment and going over the script before narrating them. That particular sequence felt different to NFL Films as part of a 9-minute breakdown of the Lions-Chiefs game than it did as a standalone excerpt on social media. On X, it felt overly critical to Brian Branch, so it was taken down.”
Riddick’s statement added that there was no intention to create a “hit piece” against Branch, but to offer context.
The Detroit Lions organization is one that I have nothing but respect for. Ownership, Head Coach, General Manager, and players.
Fast forward to this week, the “Turning Point” episode that was voiced by me recently that covered the Chiefs/Lions game didn’t come across the way it…
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) October 17, 2025
“The Detroit Lions organization is one that I have nothing but respect for. Ownership, Head Coach, General Manager, and players,” wrote Riddick on X. “Fast forward to this week, the ‘Turning Point’ episode that was voiced by me recently that covered the Chiefs/Lions game didn’t come across the way it should have. The intent is to collaboratively, as a group, document the events of game. Good and bad. There is NEVER an intent to do a “hit piece” on anyone or any team. That being said, I can see how the short clip that was posted could be taken as an attempt to cast the #Lions or Brian Branch in a calculated, unfavorable manner. I don’t want to be a part of that. I will be sure to make certain that anything that has my name attached to it will never again leave room for it to be interpreted that way in the future.”
The whole ordeal has not sat well with Lions fans, and as Pride of Detroit pointed out, several Lions players have also voiced their frustration over the video.