The Detroit Lions' momentum this season was halted after Week 11. Facing the Philadelphia Eagles, the Lions struggled offensively. They scored just one touchdown against the defending champions, and the Detroit defense lost the war of attrition, giving up 16 points. Along the way, star safety Brian Branch was criticized by Eagles fans.

Branch was checked on by the medical staff after hitting Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson. The Lions safety had a helmet-to-helmet hit with Dotson. Fans were quick to accuse Branch of being a dirty player, insinuating that it was an intentional blow to the head.

After the accusation by the fan, Branch responded to the Lions fan in the comments. “How do I play dirty?” Branch asked on X. “What would u rather me do in that situation?”

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Branch was not taken out of the game after the blow to the head. That being said, the Lions safety was flagged for unnecessary roughness, adding 15 more yards to Dotson's 34-yard catch. The Eagles failed to capitalize on this penalty, though, as a Jalen Hurts sack led to Philly punting the ball back to Detroit.

The Lions struggled to take advantage of the ailing Philly offense. Jared Goff had his worst game with Detroit so far. While he did have 255 yards and one touchdown, that came with a 37% completion rate on 37 attempts and an interception to boot. The Eagles pass rush got to Goff, making the stout Detroit offensive line look bad.

With the loss, the Lions have surrendered control of the NFC North to the Chicago Bears.