As the clock wound down at Arrowhead Stadium, Mahomes appeared to extend his hand toward Branch, but the Lions safety walked past him. Seconds later, Branch struck Smith-Schuster in the facemask, knocking the Chiefs receiver to the ground, according to Yahoo sports.

Smith-Schuster jumped up and charged back, with players from both teams rushing in. Officials and coaches stepped between the groups as the scuffle spread near midfield. After a few minutes, the situation settled. Smith-Schuster was later seen leaving the field holding a towel to his face.

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“There’s pretty good damage” to Smith-Schuster’s nose, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters after the game.

The NFL is expected to issue fines in the coming days.

‘I should’ve never did it’

“I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said after the game, via The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should’ve never did it. It was childish.”

Branch claimed Smith-Schuster hit him illegally earlier in the game.

“I got blocked in the back illegally, and it was in front of the ref,” he said. “The ref didn’t do anything. Just stuff like that. I could’ve got hurt off of that, but I still should not have done that.”

The hit Branch referred to came late in the fourth quarter when he appeared to be blindsided by Smith-Schuster.

The fight overshadowed the Chiefs’ 30-17 win, which snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak. Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. Isaiah Pacheco added 51 yards on the ground, and Travis Kelce had 78 yards receiving.

For Detroit, Jared Goff completed 23 of 29 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 65 yards, and Jameson Williams caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Branch finished with seven tackles.