Lions vs Chiefs game ends in brawl

Question

After an anticipated game between the KC Chiefs and Detroit Lions, a brawl broke out after the Lions loss. After the game, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes made an attempt to shake Lions Safety, Brian Branch, hand. However, Branch ignores the shake in bad sportsmanship. Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster made the same attempt, however, Branches reaction was a direct hit to JuJus helmet, leading to a brawl between both teams. The reason for the hit was due to an earlier block made on Branch by JuJu, which Branch said he did not appreciate since the block was illegal and a call was not made. However, Branch agrees that his action was unacceptable.

Answer 1

This claim is true. Following the end of the NFL game between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, October 13th, a scuffle broke out between Chiefs Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuste and Lion Safety Brian Branch. The events described in the original article occurred live on NBC’s Sunday Night Football television program. The clip of the fight and the commentators’ remarks are viewable here. This event is corroborated by ESPN, one of the largest American sports reporting channels, as well as Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports, two very reputable sports publications. 

The purported reason for Branch’s actions, an allegedly illegal block made earlier in the game by JuJu with no called penalty, is confirmed by ESPN. Brian Branch made this statement following the event, appearing to apologize for his actions: “I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. They be trying to bully me out there and I don’t – I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish” (ESPN). According to CBS Sports, Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell called Branch’s actions “inexcusable.” One day after the event, the National Football League suspended Brian Branch for one game. However, Branch is reportedly appealing his suspension, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport (NFL). ESPN is considered a reliable sports news source, while the NFL official page provides trustworthy news of events within the league. Even the original source, The Guardian, is widely considered to be a reputable news outlet.

Comments

I love the way you cited your sources in blue and being able to click on certain words that are speaking about the incident or have to do with the news source, very clever.

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Nice work finding multiple legitimate sources.

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I am impressed by the research put into this and the references to outside sources. Not only did you put time in evaluating the original claim but you also broke down the sources really well which shows the a higher comprehension level because you are also making sure that reputable background is used as a basis for a strong  understanding and a well rounded approach fact-checking.

Answer 2

This is true, after the awaited sunday night football game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs at arrowhead stadium the Lions safety Brian Branch was seen going up to the Chiefs Juju Smith-Schuster and slapping him across the face leading to a huge brawl amongst both teams. In this article by ESPN it states "The NFL on Monday suspended Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch for one game without pay for unsportsmanlike conduct after he struck Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and set off a brief fight Sunday night." This is also backed up with a video of the fight happening and images posted all over social media of the players bleeding and being mid brawl. After seeing these news sources, it is obvious that a fight did infact break out after the sunday night football game.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46585859/lions-brian-branch-suspended-one-game-postgame-fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HvHyaYglA0

Comments

This is a wellresearched and credible fact check. You used reliable sources like ESPN and included visual evidence from social media to back up your claim, which makes your point convincing. I like that you provided clear context about when and where the fight happened. You could strengthen it even more by briefly mentioning how the NFL responded or what this means for the teams going forward, but overall, it’s a solid and trustworthy analysis.

Answer 3

This is true. After the end of the Lions vs Chiefs game, a fight broke out between Lions defensive back Brian Branch and Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-schuster. This came after Branch did not accept Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' handshake attempt, according to Yahoo Sports. It is reported that Smith-schuster confronted Branch, which led to him getting hit in the face. There are multiple pictures of the series of events of this fight on USA Today's sports page titled For the Win. These images showcase what was happening during the fight and also showed the injured face of Smith-schuster. CBS Sports reports that Branch has been suspended for one game, resulting in a loss of $76,624. According to Ian Rapoport, a national insider for NFL Network and NFL.com, Branch is looking to appeal his suspension.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-suspends-brian-branch-without-pay-for-initiating-postgame-brawl-between-lions-and-chiefs/

https://ftw.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/sports/nfl/2025/10/13/lions-chiefs-fight-brian-branch-photos/86668993007/

https://x.com/spotrac/status/1977861207819206847

Comments

I like your response overall here. One thing that I am skeptical about however is using "X" as a source. It looks like a reputable reporter but I wonder if Twitter quotes qualify as a source. Other than that, this is a great report.

Answer 4

This is true,

After Saturday nights,10/12/25, game Lions safety, Brian Branch, and Chiefs wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, got into a fight. This caused The NFL to suspend Brian Branch for one game due to his unsportsmanlike behavior. The fight started after Chiefs quarter back, Patrick Mahomes, tried to high-five Lions safety but he just ignored him. Juju saw this and wanted to confront Brian, he shared some words and then got an open had slap to his face mask leading to him falling to the ground. After Mahomes threw Brian to the ground which in turn caused a brawl. It is important to note that we don’t know what Juju said and that Brian is known for being unsportsmanlike. NFL.com quoted, “He entered Week 6 with three fines for a combined $34,784 already this season (one unsportsmanlike conduct infraction and two unnecessary roughness violations). Branch was fined seven times by the NFL during the 2024 season.” showing that he is known for this type of behavior. Even with that his coach, Dan Campbell scolded him in an interview after the game, “I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it's not going to 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 and Schuster. That's not OK. That's not what we do here, and it's not gonna be OK. He knows it, our team knows it. That's not what we do." Now Brian made a statement as well stating, “I did a real childish thing, I'm tired of people doing stuff in between plays and refs don't catch it. They be trying to bully me out there. I shouldn't have did it, it was childish.” Brian is also trying to fight his one game suspension but not yet has it been confirmed if he will play.

My sources:

NFL.com: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-suspends-lions-brian-branch-one-game-postgame-fight-chiefs

ESPN.com: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46578247/lions-branch-punches-chiefs-smith-schuster-setting-scrum

Comments

I liked how you used multiple sources straight from the NFL and ESPN and also provided quotes detailing the whole situation. They were all credible sources and confirmed this claim as true. I also like how you gave background on some of the players involved in the fight with their past fines and known behavior.

Answer 5

        This claim is true, on Sunday October 13 the Kansas City Chief defeated the Detroit Lions (30-17). After the game Chiefs QB, Patrick Mahomes attempts to give Lions safety Brian Branch a high-five. However Branch ignores his hand and Chiefs WR Juju Smith-Schuster has a few words with Branch which leads to a scuffle between the two teams. This story was displayed on ESPN, the number one sport channel for new stories, and Associated Press. Most importantly the NFL (National Football League) published a story and a statement from Jon Runyan, VP of football operations for the NFL.

        ESPN states why Branch responded the way he did, “he was blocked in the back by Smith-Schuster toward the end of the game in front of the referees and they didn’t respond”. He strikes Smith-Schuster’s in face and eventually drags him to the ground. ESPN shows both Branch and Smith-Schuster’s responses to the aftermath. Branch: “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish”. Smith-Schuster: “I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good Game.’ But he threw a punch”. The day after, the NFL suspends Branch for one game. The VP of football operations Jon Runyan sends a letter to Branch stating, “Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game”. The NFL is a reliable source as it has no biased coverage and strictly reports any news happening in the league.

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-suspends-lions-brian-branch-one-game-postgame-fight-chiefs

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46578247/lions-branch-punches-chiefs-smith-schuster-setting-scrum

https://apnews.com/article/lions-brian-branch-suspended-c064cdb9ab6128601b6c5eb6d8632a25

Answer 6

This claim/article is true. At the end of the sunday NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions on 10/13, a fight started between the Chiefs wide reciever, JuJu Smith-Schuste and the Lions Safety Brian Branch. The fight that the original article from the guarding talked about was seen live on NBC’s Sunday Night Football tv program. The video of the fight is on youtube and is linked below. This fight was also covered by ESPN, a very reputable sports reporting source, as well as CBS Sports, both are very trustworthy sources. ESPN reported that "The NFL on Monday suspended Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch for one game without pay for unsportsmanlike conduct after he struck Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and set off a brief fight Sunday night."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HvHyaYglA0  

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46578247/lions-branch-punches-chiefs-smith-schuster-setting-scrum

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/lions-db-brian-branch-expresses-remorse-after-fight-with-chiefs-wr-juju-smith-schuster/

Answer 7

The claim that the Lions vs Chiefs football game ended in a brawl is true. Reports from ESPN and Reuters confim that after the game, Lions safey Brian Branch struck Chiefs reciever Juju Smith- Schuster, sparking a breif melee between players from both teams. The altercation was described as an "agressive, non football act was extremely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players", by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyun. The NFL then later suspended Branch for one game without pay for his actions, according to ESPN. Branch plans to appeal the susension, as said by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. CBS Sports also published an article regarding this brawl, and it is in a big social media buzz at the moment. Overall the claim is true, as the information is provided by multiple reliable sources!