While his teammates took to Instagram to spread the photo, Lions safety Brian Branch wasn't so proud of his double bird at Lambeau a few days later.
Branch raised both middle fingers to the crowd as he walked off the field after getting ejected for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers receiver Bo Melton in the Lions' 24-14 win last Sunday, which drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct and cost his team another 15 yards.
“That’s not something -- like, I don’t want to show -- (I don't) want people to notice me as that," Branch said Wednesday. "I feel like that was just a heat of the moment for me. And I apologize to everyone that seen that. That won’t happen again."
Dan Campbell already discussed the incident with Branch, explaining that his biggest issue with Branch's ejection was that he made a bad situation worse: "That’s what he and I talked about, like, ‘Man, you can’t give them the 15 after that,'" Campbell said.
As for the hit itself, Branch was originally flagged for unnecessary roughness and said Wednesday, "I most definitely agree with the call." He was ejected after the NFL's replay review officials in New York deemed the hit to be flagrant.
“I feel like my target was obviously high, but that was never my intentions to aim for the head," he said. "But moving forward, I do have to move my target down.”
That's been exactly the message from his coaches, Campbell included.
"Just lower (the target) and go through the sternum," Campbell said. "He was just a little bit high. But he’ll be fine, man. He plays an aggressive style, he’s a hell of a player, he’s a hell of safety and no, he’s not a dirty player."
Asked if it feels like officials around the league are watching the Lions closely given their physical style of play, Branch said, "In a way, but I guess that’s just part of the game. We’re hot right now. We’re the hottest team. I feel like they do look at us every play, but we’ve just got to keep on being us and playing our game.”