Midway through the second quarter of a critical NFC North Division road game, the Detroit Lions lost their defensive signal-caller, safety Brian Branch, to a sack. Branch appeared to make an attempt to lower his shoulder when Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton also twisted his body, resulting in an accidental helmet-to-helmet collision.

There have been countless cases of targeted violence in the NFL over the years; utter, expulsion-worthy stupidity that justified the league dropping its judicial gavel. Just watch the last piece in which the NFL excluded a player. Last year, Damontae Kazee went nearly horizontal and assumed a diving jet position, while Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. also dove toward the turf. The refereeing teams missed the targeted ankle twisting and twisting of other key joints, but they did flag Branch for a play that I personally saw in three different games on Sunday. In one of those cases (Miami and Buffalo), Jordan Poyer was not ejected. In another game, Philadelphia-Jacksonville, no penalty was called at all.

We find ourselves saying this: It's the kind of administrative nonsense that can derail a game for a team that may be struggling to control itself emotionally. We're at the point where NFL coaches can barely keep their players in the building for practice (see: Jermaine Burton and the Cincinnati Bengals) or paying attention during the most critical part of the game (see: Tyrique Stevenson and the Chicago Bears).

So it's worth noting that in a heavy rainstorm and hostile environment at Lambeau Field, the Lions simply shifted gears and turned their division's second-best team into fine powder by the end of the third quarter.

The Lions are the best team in the NFC and it's not even close. That's true, as the roster is the perfect mix of superstar talent and a top-notch middle class that helps Detroit overcome tougher games on the perimeter. That's true, because their coach, Dan Campbell, has a better handle on the psychology of the building than anyone in the NFL, thanks to his ability to tailor a locker room to his personality. However, this is even more true as they are completely spared from the wear and tear of a long year.

Before the season, amid unprecedented and potentially crippling hypethe Lions didn't shy away from the attention. They welcomed it. With Adian Hutchinson out for the season, they knocked off the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings and beat the Tennessee Titans by 50 in the next two weeks (and, allegedlywho was traded at the deadline for former Packers pass-rushing star Za'Darius Smith).

Well, in a divisional game that the team was obviously playing in heightened excitement – ​​just take a look Amon-Ra St. Brown's sweatshirt– The immediate two possessions following Branch's ejection resulted in a 10-point blow that put the Packers out of reasonable striking distance at halftime.

Some details are debatable. Maybe Jordan Love was limping (too limping to have played?). Perhaps the weather unfairly benefited the Lions as they were able to control plays on the ground (and as we saw at the end of the third quarter, weather-related injuries caused some flawed, game-changing plays, such as a bad snap that…before a field goal). the Packers or in the fourth quarter when Dontayvion Wicks dropped a ball that was slightly behind him but could be caught in a drier climate). Perhaps, unlike me, many former players on social media, and newly minted league owner Tom Brady (who isn't really allowed to criticize such things on TV anyway), you thought the hit was worthy of the league's best in serious in-game action .

However, the Lions' response is not up for debate. That has never been the case.

While it's difficult to derive a comprehensive story from a football game, we know for certain that at some point during the Lions' inevitable playoff run, everything will take a turn for the worse. Given the tenor of this NFL season, you pick your poison: another untimely injury, a wave of unfathomable calls, a terrible rebound, an unfortunate gaffe on an ill-prepared surface. These incidents haunt even the best NFL teams like family ghosts.

Until earlier this year, we could safely say that the Kansas City Chiefs were the only team not affected by this. After eight games this season, there is no doubt that the two-time defending Super Bowl champions have company.