Tucker Kraft’s helmet came off at Ford Field in the first half, courtesy of a hit from Brian Branch that should have brought a flag out and did not.

Green Bay’s own game notes called it a helmet-to-helmet hit the officiating crew let go without a flag. Kraft got up without his helmet, had it handed back, and finished the day with four catches for 48 yards and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love.

The Lions won 20-17 on a Jake Bates field goal as time expired, moving Detroit to 4-2. Branch, playing his first game back from the torn Achilles that ended his 2025 season last December, had the fourth-quarter interception that iced it.

Fans turn on Branch within minutes

For a Detroit safety whose fine ledger is already long, the no-call was all it took to set the old argument running again.

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“Brian Branch immediately leading with the helmet. so great to have him back,” one widely shared post from Andy Herman read.

Branch and Kraft, round two

Branch and Kraft have been here before. In the Lions-Packers season opener 13 months ago, Branch grabbed Kraft by the facemask, pulled his helmet off and tossed it toward the Detroit sideline. The NFL fined him $23,186 that week, $11,593 for facemasking and the same again for taunting. Kraft got the last word on that one too, catching a touchdown three plays after the 15-yard flag put Green Bay in the red zone.

The dirty-player file keeps growing

The Kraft history is only part of it. In November 2024, Branch was ejected at Lambeau Field for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers receiver Bo Melton, then flipped off the Green Bay crowd on his way to the tunnel. In October 2025 he was suspended one game for slapping Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster across the helmet and ripping it off after a Sunday night loss in Kansas City, with the league office calling the swing “entirely unwarranted” and a serious risk of injury.

That is the body of work behind the “dirtiest player in the league” label Branch cannot shake, and why Sunday’s uncalled hit on Kraft went viral within minutes.

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No flag came out on the play.

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