Sports

A brawl marred the completion of Sunday night's Lions-Chiefs game. The league undoubtedly will have plenty to say about it. Lions coach Dan Campbell had the first word regarding the melee that unfolded after Lions safety Brian Branch struck Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face as Smith-Schuster was extending a hand to him.

"I love Brian Branch but what he did is inexcusable," Campbell told reporters. "And it's not gonna be accepted here. It's not what we do, it's not what we're about. I apologize to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs and, you know, [Smith-]Schuster. That's not OK. That's not what we do here. And it's not gonna be OK. He nknows it. Our team knows it. That's not what we do."

The league undoubtedly will pick through the many available camera angles in order to decide which players will be fined, and whether any should be suspended.

If there are suspensions, they should begin with Branch. The game was over. The time for any and all physical contact had ended.

Although the NFL went relatively easy on former Washington tackle Trent Williams for striking former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman in the face after a 2012 playoff game (Williams was fined only $7,875), the league has emphasized sportsmanship this season. There's no bigger display of bad sportsmanship than for players to attack each other after the clock has reached zero. At a time when players should be saying "good game" to each other, hitting an opponent (and sparking a full-blown fracas) is the worst possible look.

The NFL claims to take seriously the messages that the highest form of football sends to all lower levels. If that's the case, it will have no choice but to send the strongest possible message to Branch — and to anyone else who threw a punch or attacked another player following the conclusion of the game.

Once again, the Chiefs have a two-possession lead.

Patrick Mahomes threw his third touchdown of the night to cap a nine-play, 69-yard drive and give the Chiefs a 27-17 lead in the fourth quarter.

It was Mahomes’ second TD pass of Week 6 to Hollywood Brown, who also caught one early the third quarter.

After punting for the first time in the game on their previous drive, the Chiefs got a free first down with Aidan Hutchinson’s roughing the passer penalty on second-and-7 from the Kansas City 34.

The Chiefs continued to get chunk plays from there until they reached the 3-yard line. On third-and-goal from that spot, Mahomes moved to his right and found Brown wide open for a 3-yard TD.

Mahomes is now 20-of-28 passing for 245 yards with three touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 34 yards with one TD.

The Lions didn't get anything going on their first drive of the second half, but found plenty of rhythm on their second.

Tight end Sam LaPorta made a terrific play to catch a 4-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, reducing the Chiefs’ lead to three points early in the fourth quarter.

With a defender draped all over him, LaPorta caught quarterback Jared Goff’s pass with one arm, getting two feet down for the score.

It was LaPorta’s second touchdown of the season.

The play capped an eight-play, 81-yard drive that took just 4:20 off the clock. The Lions faced little resistance going down the field, with just two second downs — both of which were second-and-4.

Goff is now 21-of-24 for 191 yards with two touchdowns, which is good for a passer rating of 127.6.