WATCH: Lions safety distributes Brian Branch's 'double bird' t-shirt in the locker room
The Detroit Lions dominated the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season despite losing Brian Branch early in the game. This ejection seemingly helped them get stronger and defeat a direct opponent for the top spot of the NFC North division.
Branch was frustrated after being ejected and took that out on fans as he exited the field. He was hit with another flag for unsportsmanlike conduct for flipping off the Packers crowd.
Ahead of another high-flying matchup against the Houston Texans, Kerby Joseph was seen in the locker room delivering t-shirts with the image of Branch's "double bird" against Packers supporters.
Brian Branch was ejected after hitting a defenseless receiver, Bo Melton, which didn't sit well with opposing fans. That play had major ramifications for the player, but the rest of the team took advantage of that. Even new addition Za'Darius Smith got his hands on one of the tees, as he shared on Instagram stories.
The Lions ended up dominating the Packers, 24-14, after their rivals scored eight points in the fourth quarter. This team is looking like a legitimate Super Bowl candidate (7-1) and they keep passing tests.
They will face the Texans in primetime this week before facing three seemingly weaker opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.
They will wind down the season with another matchup against the Packers, then they'll clash against the Buffalo Bills, the Bears and the 49ers in an NFC Championship Game rematch before they close the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings.
Brian Branch apologizes after incident with Packers fans
On Wednesday, Brian Branch broke his silence about this incident and apologized to Packers fans. He agreed that it was something unacceptable while vowing he would work to avoid that kind of behavior in the future.
"That's not something I wanted to show or want people to notice me as that," Branch said, via ESPN. "That was just the heat of the moment for me, and I apologize to everyone who seen that and that won't happen again."
Speaking about the play, Branch said he agreed with the call.
"I most definitely agree with the call. My target was obviously high, but that was never my intentions to aim for the head," Branch said. "Moving forward I do have to move my target down."
Branch was one of the biggest stories of Week 9, but it's time for him to flip the script and steal the spotlight for more positive reasons.