{"id":111265,"date":"2025-10-16T06:31:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T06:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265"},"modified":"2025-10-16T06:31:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T06:31:05","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8lions-shockwave-nfl-drops-its-final-verdict-on-brian-branchs-fate-fans-are-split-and-detroit-cant-believe-what-just-happened-ll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240672273-e1760576709596.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240672273-e1760576709596.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240672273-e1760576709596.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240672273-e1760576709596.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"NFL Makes Final Call on Punishment for Lions' Brian Branch Following Appeal\" width=\"780\" height=\"440\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Safety Brian Branch of the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch won\u2019t be with the team when it hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field on the October 20 edition of \u201cMonday Night Football.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n<div id=\"8e138725f6bd927aa56a5bccedec3a46\">\n<div data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFLfootballinfo\/status\/1978616220254388564\">\n<blockquote data-dnt=\"true\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hearing officer Jordy Nelson, jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA, has upheld the one-game suspension of Detroit defensive back Brian Branch.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) October 16, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHearing officer Jordy Nelson, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, has upheld the one-game suspension of Detroit defensive back Brian Branch,\u201d NFL Senior Vice President of Football &amp; International Communications Michael Signora posted to X Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Brian Branch Suspended for Starting Large Fight Between Lions, Chiefs<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5546643\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2240677952-e1760326298611.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"NFL Makes Final Call on Punishment for Lions' Brian Branch Following Appeal\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5546643\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5546643\">GettyHead coach Dan Campbell (right) and safety Brian Branch (left) of the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Branch started a large-scale brawl following the Chiefs\u2019 30-17 win over the Lions in Kansas City on \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d last weekend.<\/p>\n<p>The issue began with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attempting to shake Branch\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Smith-Schuster\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Soon there were several players from each team involved, some shoving while others were clearly trying to calm down the physical altercation.\u00a0All three of the initial participants spoke about the incident in its aftermath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, we play the game in between the whistles,\u201d\u00a0Mahomes said during an on-field interview. \u201cThey can do all the extra-curricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game between the whistles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Branch, meanwhile, spoke with reporters after the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a childish thing, but I\u2019m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don\u2019t catch it,\u201d Branch said, per ESPN. \u201cThey be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could\u2019ve got hurt off of that play,\u201d Branch said of what he claimed was an illegal block by Smith-Schuster during the game. \u201cI still shouldn\u2019t have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith-Schuster also had some words following the contest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a great player and he\u2019s huge for [their] team,\u201d Smith-Schuster said of Branch. \u201cAfter the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, \u2018Good game.\u2019 But he threw a punch.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Lions, Down 3 Starters in Secondary, Will Square Off Against Injured Buccaneers Offense Monday Night<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5513698\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2237924665-e1759096512502.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"NFL Makes Final Call on Punishment for Lions' Brian Branch Following Appeal\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5513698\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5513698\">GettyDetroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Branch\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Wide receiver Mike Evans, who has missed several games with a hamstring issue of his own, was questionable for the game as of Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group&#8217;s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL upheld a one-game suspension without pay for Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch, who will miss Monday&#8217;s game against the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":111266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NFL upheld a one-game suspension without pay for Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch, who will miss Monday&#039;s game against the Buccaneers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365","og_description":"The NFL upheld a one-game suspension without pay for Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch, who will miss Monday's game against the Buccaneers.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265","name":"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-16T06:31:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LUU-1-83.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=111265#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\ud83d\udea8LIONS SHOCKWAVE: NFL Drops Its Final Verdict on Brian Branch\u2019s Fate, Fans Are Split, and Detroit Can\u2019t Believe What Just Happened..ll"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111267,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111265\/revisions\/111267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}