On the Sunday Night Football stage, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions managed to live up to the hype by delivering a fun game. The hosts wound up pulling away in the end, but the biggest dramatic sequence didn’t even occur until the final whistle blew.
After the game, Detroit safety Brian Branch and Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster got into an altercation. Branch’s slap of Smith-Schuster sparked an ugly postgame brawl, leaving the Chiefs’ side not too happy.
The NFL wasted no time getting to the bottom of the situation. On Monday afternoon, the league announced Branch is being suspended one game without pay.
NFL Suspends Brian Branch for Involvement in Postgame Brawl With Chiefs
Per the NFL’s issued Monday notice, Branch’s suspension stems from “unsportsmanlike conduct.” It’s a violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
NFL VP of football operations Jon Runyan handed down the suspension, writing the following in his letter:
“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”
As is typically the case, Branch can appeal the suspension. One of three jointly-appointed hearing officers — Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster or Jordy Nelson — can hear said appeal if it takes place.
The Lions have a Monday Night Football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the docket for Week 7. Unless he appeals, Branch will be inactive for it.
UPDATE: Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Branch is appealing.
Kansas City Offense Continued to Hit Stride in Week 6 Against Lions
After a slow start to the season, the Chiefs are looking more and more like themselves. Sunday night’s game marked the continuation of that trend.
Andy Reid’s team hung 30 points on a competent NFC defense, doing so while racking up 355 net yards and converting on 6 of 13 late-down situations. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the star of the show, going 22-of-30 for 257 yards and 4 total touchdowns. He completed passes to eight different players, with Smith-Schuster (3 catches for 57 yards) among them.
For the second time in a full week, the Chiefs moved the ball with relative ease. Last Monday saw them put up a staggering 476 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If not for a Mahomes pick-six at the goal line, the outcome very well could’ve been different. The week prior versus the Baltimore Ravens, they scored a season-high 37 points.
Just like that, Kansas City is back to .500 on the year and boasts an explosive offense. According to SumerSports, they’re fifth in the sport with an average EPA/play of 0.15. Mahomes is playing MVP-level football with wideout Xavier Worthy back in the fold. That isn’t even the scariest part, as Rashee Rice is tracking to return from his suspension ahead of Week 7’s outing against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It remains to be seen whether the NFL will hand down any discipline to the Chiefs for their involvement in the aforementioned brawl. In the meantime, Reid’s crew will thank its lucky stars for getting back on track from a football perspective.
