The Detroit Lions were short-handed defensively going into Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, with Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and Derrick Barnes out with long-term injuries and some other front-seven pieces out for the game.
So defensive back Brian Branch was sure to have to be impactful in keeping the Packers' offense in-check, even in wet, windy conditions where the passing game would be naturally limited to some degree.
Unfortunately, Branch made impactful play in a negative fashion. He put a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers' wide receiver Bo Melton. Upon review from the league office in New York, Branch was ejected from the game.
Here's the hit. You can make a case for a good bit of shoulder contact to Melton's head, but there's also a lot of helmet-to-helmet contact. It's simply not a smart play by Branch.
Brian Branch somehow couldn't believe he got ejected
After it was announced he had been ejected, Branch made it worse by also drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
It would appear he said something untoward to the officials when they told him he was being ejected. And reporters indicated Branch had a profane gesture for the crowd at Lambeau Field as well.
The process that led to Branch being ejected can certainly be questioned, along with the attempt to determine intent. But the rulebook leaves open the possibility of an ejection if an unnecessary roughness penalty is deemed to be at a level worthy of it.
Rule 12, Article 8:
"Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards. The player may be disqualified if the action is judged by the official(s) to be flagrant."
The Packers' ensuing drive ended in a missed 46-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, so there was ultimately no harm in Branch's helmet-to-helmet foul and subsequent loss of composure leading to more penalty yards. But now he's not available for the rest of a big game for the Lions, and he'll have a nice fine letter waiting from him at his locker sometime this coming week.