Watch: Lions' Branch punches Chiefs' Smith-Schuster, triggers postgame fight

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch punched wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, triggering a postgame scuffle after his Detroit Lions lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Branch prompted the scrum as players were exchanging handshakes after the 30-17 setback Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. He walked up to Smith-Schuster, who held his hand out for a handshake, before hitting him in the face mask.

Smith-Schuster then raced back toward Branch, who was being held back by Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco. Several other Chiefs and Lions players and coaches from both teams rushed into the area before eventually being separated.

Smith-Schuster left the field with a bloody nose from the incident. Branch later said he went after Smith-Schuster because he hit him with an alleged illegal block in the back, which wasn't called, earlier in the game. He also said he should have never gone after the Chiefs wide receiver and apologized.

"I should have never done it," Branch told reporters. "It was childish."

Branch logged seven combined tackles in the loss. Smith-Schuster totaled three catches for 57 yards for the Chiefs, who out-gained the Lions 355 to 297 in total yards.

Lions coach Dan Campbell called Branch's action "inexcusable" at his postgame news conference. He said he also apologized to the Chiefs.

"I love Brian Branch, but what he did is excusable," Campbell said. "And it's not gonna be accepted here. It's not what we do. It's not what we're about. I apologized to coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs.

"That's not OK. That's not what we do here. It's not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it."

Branch, who is now subject to discipline from the NFL, logged 33 combined tackles, five passes defensed, four tackles for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble through six starts this season. He registered a career-high 109 combined tackles and four interceptions over 16 starts last season, when he earned Pro Bowl honors.

"I expected to shake his hand...but he threw a punch," Smith-Schuster said. "At the end of the day, it's a team sport. We came out here and did our job and won and that's all that matters."

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three scores in the victory. Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 203 yards and two scores in the loss.

"I mean, we play the game in between the whistles," Mahomes said, when asked about Branch on the NBC broadcast. "They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play in between the whistles."

The Chiefs (3-3) will host the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. The Lions (4-2) will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) on Oct. 20 in Detroit.