The Lions have dominated the news this week in the aftermath of Sunday night’s loss to the Chiefs. From the rule regarding Jared Goff’s touchdown catch to the way the play was officiated, to safety Brian Branch hitting receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after the game, and Branch’s subsequent suspension and appeal — it’s been all about the Lions lately.

Adding fuel to the fire, an NFL Films clip criticized Branch, sparking reactions across the league and among fans. On Saturday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed reporters about multiple players taking issue with the league-owned media company’s attempt to make Branch look bad.

“We overcome adversity, and, listen, that’s their brother, man,” Campbell said. “And if you’re gonna attack their brother, that’s what they’re gonna do. So, you know, we got a tight-knit group, and I already mentioned this, man. BB’s a good dude. So he’s paying for what happened and he’ll be back, ready to go for Minnesota.”

When asked whether the situation could become a distraction for the team, Campbell was clear on the matter:

“We can’t worry about those things, particularly when it comes to playing, man. If we sit here and worry about that, or what could be called or not called, or, man, it’s all these other things that have nothing to do with us. We have no control over any of that other than the way we play. And we got to cut it loose and play our style of football, period. And we do that, we like our chances always. So that’s the most important thing. Our guys know that. We assume that we’re going to get nothing to go our way, and, you know, and that’s OK. I mean, seriously, that’s the game, man. There’s always calls. Every team, that happens one way or another, and you got to overcome them, and the good teams always do. So we’re not worried about it.”

Although the question centered on the Branch situation, Campbell’s comments appeared to include a broader reference to the idea that “we’re going to get nothing to go our way.” This could be a subtle way of expressing his lingering objection to the league office’s involvement in calling the flag on the Goff play — something he mentioned on Wednesday as a violation of the rulebook.

In our view, this is the biggest takeaway from Sunday night’s game. If Campbell’s interpretation is accurate, the NFL has opened Pandora’s box. It will be critical during the offseason rule-tweaking process for the league to address the situation and get it under control.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dan-campbell-if-you-attack-their-brother-brian-branch-lions-players-will-respond