The NFL has come under fire from both Detroit Lions players and fans following the fallout from last week’s game — particularly over Brian Branch’s ejection and a controversial overturned touchdown by quarterback Jared Goff that would have given Detroit an early 7–0 lead.
Tensions escalated on Thursday when the league’s official account posted a video highlighting Branch’s performance, featuring ESPN analyst Louis Riddick’s commentary, which appeared to blame the safety’s on-field struggles for his involvement in the postgame brawl.
The video was later deleted, but not before sparking backlash from Lions players, including offensive tackle Dan Skipper, who responded fiercely on X (formerly Twitter).
Riddick’s analysis painted Branch in an unflattering light, saying:
“It was a long night for Lions safety Brian Branch, number 32. He got burned by Travis Kelce, got shown up by Patrick Mahomes, juked by Xavier Worthy, and took a shot from JuJu Smith-Schuster. The turning point led to Branch’s boiling point.”
Skipper didn’t hold back in his response, calling out the league’s handling of the situation:
“Hey @NFLFilms y’all wanna post a bunch of BS and then won’t stand on business? Feel free to go into a deeper dive on some of the other storylines. #soft,” he wrote.
The post quickly went viral, racking up more than 200,000 views within hours as fans rallied behind Skipper and questioned the NFL’s decision to post — and then quietly remove — the controversial video.
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