Detroit Lions Announce Historic Dan Campbell News
The Detroit Lions took care of business on Monday, October 20, for Monday Night Football, and towered over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a final score of 24-9. This wasn’t just any win. It was a statement win. With this Lions showing, the team proved that their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on October 12 was an anomaly, not a pattern for the rest of their season.
The Detroit Lions ruled the game from the get-go, and it’s a pattern they’ve showed for the past few years. The Detroit Lions are now 13-4 following a loss since the start of the 2022 campaign, which is the second-best record in NFL over that timeframe after the Kansas City Chiefs (11-2), according to ESPN Research. It’s great to head into the Lions’ NFL bye week with another win.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell had a special moment during the game and actually made history. The Lions took to social media after the matchup to celebrate their coach and what this win means to him.
Dan Campbell News From the Detroit Lions
Campbell is officially one of the most winning Detroit Lions coaches of all time. After the game, the Lions took to X to state, “Head coach Dan Campbell has passed Joe Schmidt and Monte Clark (43) for the fifth-most wins as head coach in franchise history.”
“He will be first very soon,” one follower commented. “The best man we’ve had in the last 60 years,” another commented.
After the game, Campbell wasn’t all about himself. Instead, the Metallica enthusiast was complimenting the players, such as running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who had a monster of a game. Gibbs made NFL history as the 10th player in NFL history to produce a game with at least 135 rushing yards, 80 receiving yards and two rushing TDs, according to the official Lions’ account. The last player to do that was Chris Johnson in 2009. Gibbs hit that milestone with 4:39 left to go in the third quarter.
Dan Campbell Talks Jahmyr Gibbs
“It was huge. You felt like this was coming,” Campbell told reporters of Gibbs’ stellar performance after the win. “You felt like this has been building and as he gets in better shape and starts getting his feet under him and starts getting a feel of it – starts breaking some tackles. Every week, you feel like it’s gotten closer and closer. Tonight was the night where he just busted one of these out of there and there’ll be no looking back.”
Campbell added of the future of Gibbs, “I think he’s just going to continue to do this. So, our O-line did a good job in areas of getting into the second level. Certainly, we got to continue to improve there but that’s all you got to do. If you can get him the second level, he’ll do the rest. We’re fortunate because our O-line can open some holes in and we have the receivers that block. So, the rest is up to him. One-on-one with a safety.”
Gibbs had 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts and added three catches for 82 yards, good for a combined total of 218 scrimmage yards in the game.
NFL Makes Final Call on Punishment for Lions’ Brian Branch Following Appeal
Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch won’t be with the team when it hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field on the October 20 edition of “Monday Night Football.”
The ruling came down from the league office after Branch appealed a one-game suspension without pay in the wake of his actions following last Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hearing officer Jordy Nelson, jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA, has upheld the one-game suspension of Detroit defensive back Brian Branch.
— Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) October 16, 2025
“Hearing officer Jordy Nelson, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, has upheld the one-game suspension of Detroit defensive back Brian Branch,” NFL Senior Vice President of Football & International Communications Michael Signora posted to X Wednesday night.
Brian Branch Suspended for Starting Large Fight Between Lions, Chiefs
GettyHead coach Dan Campbell (right) and safety Brian Branch (left) of the Detroit Lions.
Branch started a large-scale brawl following the Chiefs’ 30-17 win over the Lions in Kansas City on “Sunday Night Football” last weekend.
The issue began with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attempting to shake Branch’s hand as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Branch shrugged Mahomes off, and Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster took exception to the snub.
Smith-Schuster’s visible reaction sparked Branch, who struck Smith-Schuster in the face mask. The two tussled and eventually hit the deck, with Mahomes jumping in to intervene.
Soon there were several players from each team involved, some shoving while others were clearly trying to calm down the physical altercation. All three of the initial participants spoke about the incident in its aftermath.
“I mean, we play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes said during an on-field interview. “They can do all the extra-curricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game between the whistles.”
Branch, meanwhile, spoke with reporters after the game.
“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said, per ESPN. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”
“I could’ve got hurt off of that play,” Branch said of what he claimed was an illegal block by Smith-Schuster during the game. “I still shouldn’t have done that.”
Smith-Schuster also had some words following the contest.
“He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team,” Smith-Schuster said of Branch. “After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch.”
Lions, Down 3 Starters in Secondary, Will Square Off Against Injured Buccaneers Offense Monday Night
GettyDetroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed.
Detroit will face something of a mountain to climb on Monday night without Branch, as starting cornerbacks D.J. Reed (hamstring/IR) and Terrion Arnold (shoulder) are both out due to injuries.
Branch’s absence means the Lions secondary will be down three starters against one of the more potent offensive attacks in the league through six weeks, led by Bucs QB Baker Mayfield.
However, Tampa Bay is also likely to be without several offensive players. The team has already ruled out wide receiver Chris Godwin (fibula) and running back Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), while it appears unlikely that star rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka will play after suffering a hamstring strain last weekend.
Wide receiver Mike Evans, who has missed several games with a hamstring issue of his own, was questionable for the game as of Wednesday.
