Cameras Caught Patrick Mahomes’s Simple Taunt at Brian Branch After Chiefs TD

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed to share a moment with Lions' Brian Branch after running in for a touchdown in Sunday night's win.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed to share a moment with Lions' Brian Branch after running in for a touchdown in Sunday night's win. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Chiefs seem to have finally found their groove after rolling to a big win over the Lions on Sunday night, one unfortunately marred by Lions' Brian Branch starting a postgame fight with JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Following the final whistle, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes stuck out his hand for a handshake with Branch, but Branch ignored him. The Lions safety then went over to Smith-Schuster and slapped him in the face, igniting a postgame scuffle between the two sides.

Branch apologized after the scuffle and called his own actions "childish." However, he also suggested that the refs had missed some calls on the Chiefs (Kansas City didn't receive a single penalty all game): "I'm tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don't catch it. They were trying to bully me out there."

One moment that has resurfaced in light of Branch's comments is Mahomes seeming to taunt Branch after rushing for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Mahomes got a little extra shove from Branch as he crossed the goal-line, and he immediately turned around to spin the ball at the Lions defender. He then pointed at Branch and made a gesture of brushing off his jersey:

This specific moment probably wasn't what Branch got riled up about after the game, but it may have added to the Lions defender's general frustrations following the 30-17 loss. Branch was scolded by his own coaches for his postgame antics and will likely receive a fine or worse in the coming days.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.