Lions might have given the Buccaneers a huge gift after bizarre SNF brawl

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t play on Sunday Night Football, a bizarre scene that unfolded after the game might end up having an impact on their matchup next week.

After the Detroit lost to Kansas City, Lions’ safety Brian Branch decided that it would be a good idea to try and settle the score during postgame handshakes. NBC cameras caught him getting into an altercation with Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster which ended with the latter bloodied and needing to hold a towel to his face as he left the field.

How does this chaos impact the Bucs? If the league indeed takes action, like Cris Collinsworth suggested on the NBC broadcast, then it would make Tampa Bay’s trip to Detroit next Monday a little less stressful.

Buccaneers might have caught a huge break thanks to Brian Branch’s postgame fight

In eight days Tampa Bay will be up in Detroit playing the Lions on Monday Night Football. Thanks to how things shook out this Sunday, the game has absolutely massive ramifications for the Bucs. Right now the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture belongs to Tampa Bay and the loss by Detroit means there’s a one game gap between the two teams — something that wasn’t the case when Sunday Night Football kicked off.

The Bucs have a chance to gain a two game lead on two of the teams chasing them (Green Bay is in the mix but have a tie on their record), in addition to getting another statement win against a Super Bowl contender.

Branch’s postgame antics might mean that he’s handed discipline by the league that extends beyond a fine. He’s already received that sort of punishment a whopping 14 times in his three year career, and the unnecessary behavior he displayed means the league might want to come down hard to set an example.

If Branch misses next Monday’s game, the high-flying Bucs offense will be facing a severely depleted Detroit secondary. Kirby Joseph got hurt in Sunday’s game and the Lions are already without Terrion Arnold, Avonte Maddox, and Loren Strickland. Losing Branch would mean Detroit is down five defensive backs for a game against one of the best offenses in the league.

That’s great news for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs. Not only would it mean blood in the water against a tough opponent but could set Baker up for a primetime showcase to further build his MVP case.

We’ll see what ends up happening as far as discipline, but it’s looking like the Bucs might have already caught a big break for next week before the current week is over.