Last Sunday’s post-game brouhaha was sparked by Lions safety Brian Branch hitting Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the facemask. Branch later explained that he was upset by an uncalled block in the back from Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster was not fined for the play.
“I got blocked in the back illegally,” Branch said at the time. “It was in front of the ref, the ref didn’t do anything. Stuff like that. I could’ve gotten hurt off that. But I still shouldn’t have done that.”
Run-of-the-mill blocks in the back are rarely if ever fined. It would have to rise to the level of unnecessary roughness. In theory, the league office could have concluded that Smith-Schuster committed a roughness foul, even though it wasn’t called during the game.
No Chiefs were fined for in-game infractions. Two Lions were fined for unnecessary roughness: linebacker Alex Anzalone ($12,172) and defensive lineman Tyler Lacy ($5,722). Neither were penalized at the time the infraction occurred.
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