Brian Branch couldn't believe his obviously dirty hit vs. Packers got him ejected

The Detroit Lions faced the Green Bay Packers in a divisional clash on Sunday, and it quickly became clear that there was no love lost between two teams. 

The Lions let their feelings about Green Bay be known from the moment they walked into Lambeau Field. The division rivals are both vying for first place in the NFC North, and it didn’t take long for things to get chippy on the field.

The NFC North has looked like the best division in the league this season. The Minnesota Vikings were the last undefeated team in the NFC, but two consecutive losses dropped them behind Green Bay and Detroit, who entered their Week 9 clash with six wins each through the first half of the season. 

With such a tight race for the division title, tension was running high right from the beginning of the game.

Brian Branch ejected for dirty hit, gives double middle fingers on way out

Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected from the game for an unnecessary roughness penalty against Packers wide receiver Bo Melton in the second quarter. 

On a second-and-20 with roughly six minutes remaining in the first half, quarterback Jordan Loves attempted to squeeze a pass to Melton down the sideline. The ball sailed out of bounds, but Branch drew a penalty flag after he delivered a blow to Melton’s helmet.

The officiating crew initially called an unnecessary roughness penalty, but then disqualified Branch from the game after further review. Fox ruled analyst Dean Blandino explained that the NFL’s replay assistance helped the officiating crew elevate the penalty to an ejection.

After the ejection was announced, Branch appeared to say goodbye to the fans at Lambeau Field by holding up two middle fingers before he walked off the field.

Branch clearly wasn’t happy with the decision, and neither was Fox analyst Tom Brady.

“I don’t love that call at all,” Brady said on the broadcast. “Obviously it’s a penalty, but to me, there has to be serious intent [to harm] in a game like this.”

Later in the game, Blandino explained that the league didn’t necessarily consider the hit to be an intentional attempt to cause harm, but they saw it as “flagrant” and avoidable.

The Lions, who already had their bye week, have won six of their first seven games this season. The Packers posted a 6-2 record, which includes a divisional loss against the Vikings. Detroit entered the game with a slim lead for first place in the division due to win percentage and divisional tiebreakers, but the winner of the Week 9 matchup is set to take the top spot in the race for the division title.