KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A long and frustrating night for the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium ended with Brian Branch throwing a punch at Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, sparking a brief fist fight between players from both teams.
That was about as much fight as the Lions showed all night.
They were dominated on both sides of the ball by a Kansas City team that was coming off a mistake-filled run in Jacksonville and had no interest in being two games under .500. Instead, the Chiefs shut down Detroit's prolific offense, holding it to less than half its season average while their own offense lurched up and down the field en route to a 30-17 win Sunday night.
Then a whole fireworks display followed.
As the Reds were scattered around the stadium to celebrate the Chiefs' victory, Patrick Mahomes tried to high-five Branch as they met near center field. The Lions safety walked past the Kansas City quarterback, and Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster took umbrage at the move and walked over to Branch and exchanged a few words with him.
Branch responded with a right hook that knocked Smith-Schuster down.
The veteran receiver jumped to his feet and rushed after Branch, who was playing through an ankle injury that kept him out of practice most of the week. Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco tried to get between them, but Branch was able to rip off Smith-Schuster's helmet as dozens of players from both teams clashed.
Eventually, the coaches and players managed to separate the sides and they finally left the field for the locker room. For his actions, Branch faces a large fine and even disqualification.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Detroit, which was trying to accomplish the rare feat of winning two straight games at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Lions gave up 355 yards of total offense, forced just one punt and failed to make the necessary stops late in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance at a comeback.
Jared Goff finished with just 203 yards passing, although he had touchdown throws to Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta, while Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to 45 yards receiving. Jameer Gibbs needed 17 carries for 65 yards, and nine carries for 32 yards came early in the game when Detroit marched right down the field for what looked like a touchdown.
David Montgomery took a direct hit near the goal line and threw to Goff, who moved, caught the pass and then ran into the end zone. But long after the game ended, the officials convened and decided Goff never took the field (even though no flags were raised), and an illegal motion penalty voided the touchdown.
After a delay of game penalty, the Lions had to settle for a field goal and a 3–0 lead.
It was just the beginning of a disappointing night for coach Dan Campbell and his team.
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