GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected Sunday at Green Bay after delivering a helmet-to-helmet hit to Packers receiver Bo Melton.
Branch hit Melton near the Packers sideline after Jordan Love tried to connect with him on a deep pass on second-and-20 in the second quarter. Branch was flagged for unnecessary roughness, and then the hit was deemed serious enough to warrant an ejection.
NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell told a pool reporter after the Lions’ 24-14 victory that the game officials decided to eject Branch in concert with the league office in New York.
“We reviewed all the angles, and we clearly felt that he had time and space to make a different choice, as the act was a flagrant foul,” Fewell said. “And he clearly had the opportunity to avoid the head and neck area.”
Branch did not speak to reporters after the game. Melton said he didn’t believe the hit to the head was intentional.
“He was playing ball,” Melton said. “I’m all good, so it is what it is. He was playing ball, and he hit me when I was in the air. So it is what it is.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he doesn’t want Branch to lose his aggressiveness but noted that the safety needs to remember to lower his target on those types of hits. He also suggested the game’s late-afternoon start time factored into the ejection.
“He’s got to get used to it, too,” Campbell said. “When you’re playing in prime-time games, New York’s going to look at all of these. They don’t care about the 1 o’clock games. They do (care about) those prime-time games. Understand the situation and work through it. He’ll be fine.”
Branch was irate about being thrown out and gestured at fans in the Lambeau Field stands before he was escorted off the field and into the locker room.
Instead of facing third-and-20 from their own 38-yard line, the Packers ended up with a first down from Detroit’s 32. But the Packers failed to capitalize on the situation. Their drive ended with Brandon McManus missing a 46-yard field goal attempt wide left.
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