The storyline emerging from the Detroit Lions’ defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs took an unexpected turn late in the game when a brief altercation broke out between players at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.

Lions safety Brian Branch found himself in the middle of the commotion after refusing a postgame handshake from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Moments later, Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster approached Branch following the exchange, and the Lions defender responded by shoving him to the ground with an open-handed strike.

Smith-Schuster immediately stood up and pushed Branch back before teammates and coaches from both sidelines intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.

As reported by The Athletic’s Jesse Newell, Smith-Schuster revealed that he suffered a bloody nose as a result of the confrontation.

“I know he’s better than that — a better player and a better person,” Smith-Schuster said about Branch. “He’ll learn from his mistakes.”

“He’s a great talent, no doubt. I just expected to shake his hand afterward, say, ‘Good game,’ and head toward Pat. But he threw a punch, and in the end, football is a team game. We came here, did what we had to do, and got the win — that’s what matters.”

Smith-Schuster noted that Branch’s frustration might have stemmed from having to block him repeatedly throughout the contest, which Kansas City won 30-17.

“Just out there doing my job,” Smith-Schuster said. “I played through the whistle, and afterward, he just acted on his frustration.”

Lions head coach Dan Campbell later called Branch’s behavior “inexcusable,” offering apologies to both the Chiefs and Andy Reid for the late-game incident.

“Well, everyone saw it. The guy came up and hit JuJu out of nowhere while we were taking a knee,” Reid told reporters. “That’s tough — did some real damage to JuJu’s nose.”

Branch will likely face league discipline for his involvement. He’s already been fined three times this year, including once in Week 1 for taunting against the Green Bay Packers.

It’s not uncommon for emotions to boil over in physical, high-profile matchups like Sunday night’s clash between Detroit and Kansas City.

Still, both teams agreed the situation crossed the line.

“We play the game between the whistles,” Mahomes said on NBC after the win. “They can do whatever they want outside of that, but we stick to football. We thought we played a great game tonight.”