It is a shame when teams get the national spotlight for Sunday Night Football and end up brawling on the field over things unrelated to the game. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Detroit Lions this evening by a score of 30-17, but what happened after the game has people scratching their heads.
Patrick Mahomes was responsible for four touchdowns, three passing and one rushing, and led the Chiefs to a massive win to get their season back on track.
What Happened After the Final Whistle?
Chiefs QB Mahomes appeared to offer Lions safety Brian Branch a handshake after the game’s last play, to which Branch walked right by him. Chiefs WR Juju Smith-Schuster had some words for Branch after this, and it almost instantly became a brawl that had the two surrounded by multiple players on both teams.
Brawl at the end of Sunday Night Football between Brian Branch and Juju Smith-Schuster. #detroitlions #kansascitychiefs #NFL #DETvsKC pic.twitter.com/sdcWsMp4WA
— Talking Grit: Detroit Lions Podcast (@talkinggritpod) October 13, 2025
It is common for teams to have the back of anyone on their roster, but when it involves the quarterback, the teams tend to be on even higher alert and make sure that the quarterback is treated properly. It seems a bit silly that this escalated to this level, but we can’t know for sure what was said between Smith-Schuster and Branch.
How Did Patrick Mahomes Respond to the Altercation?
As is seemingly in his nature, Mahomes brushed off the adversity in such a way that it seemed like he was totally unbothered and had bigger goals than winning this moment. The three-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback knows what it takes to get his team playing until the very end and doesn’t create distractions for his team.
“They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game between the whistles.”
-Patrick Mahomes pic.twitter.com/7DdDPwI9qe
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 13, 2025
In the post-game interview, he was asked about the altercation, and Mahomes said, “They can do all the extracurricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game between the whistles.”
This could be a situation to monitor if we get a rematch between these teams in the Super Bowl, but other than that, Branch should be getting a call from the NFL commissioner, as a repeat offender, in terms of ejections.
Mahomes came into this game with a C+ grade, according to our PFSN QBi rankings, and was graded as our 17th-best quarterback, but expect that grade and ranking to increase when the rankings are updated after Monday Night Football tomorrow.