Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch said officials made the right call by penalizing him for his hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton. What happened after that hit ended with something the former Alabama standout regrets.

As he left the field after being ejected from Sunday’s game, Branch thrust his arms up and showed his middle fingers to the crowd at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin

“I don’t want to show, I guess, or want people to notice me as that,” Branch said on Wednesday. “I feel like that was just the heat of the moment for me, and I apologize to everyone that seen that. That won’t happen again.”

In the second quarter of Detroit’s 24-14 victory over the Packers, Branch put the top of his helmet into the face mask of Melton, who didn’t catch the pass. The hit drew a penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact.

“I most definitely agree with the call,” Branch said. “I feel like my target was obviously high. But that was never my intentions to aim for the head. Moving forward, I do have to move my target down.”

Perry Fewell, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, said Branch was ejected after consultation between the field officials and league officiating headquarters. Branch’s reaction to the ejection, not flipping off the stadium, was what garnered the defensive back an additional penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, Fewell said.

Branch said the Lions’ high profile might have contributed to his ejection.

RELATED: WAS BRIAN BRANCH’S EJECTION DETERMINED BY THE SIZE OF THE TV AUDIENCE?

“We’re hot right now,” Branch said. “The hottest team, and they do look at us every play, but we just got to keep on being us and playing our game.”

Detroit will carry a six-game winning streak and an NFC-best 7-1 record into its game against the Houston Texans at 7:20 p.m. CST Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston. NBC will televise the game.

The Texans have a 6-3 record, with two of their losses coming against Detroit division rivals – 34-7 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 22 and 24-22 to the Packers on Oct. 20. Both games were on the road.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.