Dave Portnoy has led the online fury over a controversial refereeing decision in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night.
The Chiefs face the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, with Patrick Mahomes aiming to lead his team to an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl this season.
And during his battle with the Texans, Mahomes benefited from an early call for roughing the passer that sparked outrage on social media.
Midway through the first quarter at Arrowhead, where Travis Kelce's girlfriend Taylor Swift watches from the stands, Texans defensive back Will Anderson Jr. was penalized for a tackle on the Kansas City quarterback a split second later. that he dropped the ball.
Portnoy was one of many who were furious with the decision to penalize Anderson, accusing NFL referees of “cheating” at Arrowhead.
'The good news is that the Texans are dominating and their defense is flying. The bad news is that the referees are cheating and losing,” the Barstool founder wrote on X.
Dave Portnoy (left) has led the online fury after a controversial decision in favor of Patrick Mahomes.
Several users agreed with Portnoy, including one who posted a clip of Anderson's tackle on Mahomes and said, 'THE #NFL IS SO MANIPULATED FOR THE #BOYS!' A tough bulls*** penalty against the #Texans for a PICTURE PERFECT TICKET against Precious Patrick #Mahomes.
'Ridiculous! The NFL is scripted and UNOBSERVABLE!'
Another argued: 'When will the NFL know that what they are doing for the Mahomes/Chiefs and what they did for (Tom) Brady/Patriots only infuriates football fans?' Nobody wants to see referees giving every decision to a player or team. That's not football!'
“Apparently if you sneeze on Mahomes you'll get a penalty.” Unreal,” a third sarcastically commented.
'You can find this 1,000 times with other quarterbacks this year, attrition wasn't called. Only Mahomes,' said another.
While one just says, “That's ridiculous.”
ESPN analyst Jason Kelce, whose brother Travis will play for the Chiefs on Saturday night, also described the decision to rough the quarterback as “questionable.”
Portnoy was also left furious with another controversial call in favor of Mahomes later in the game, in which the Texans were penalized for unnecessary roughness against Kansas City's star quarterback.
Fans were equally furious with the decision to rough the quarterback in the Chiefs-Texans game.
He posted a clip of the tackle that sparked the call and wrote, “THIS LEAGUE IS DISGUSTING!!!!”
Another user also highlighted a 'hip tackle' on Chiefs safety Bryan Cook that went unpunished during the first quarter of Saturday's game, while accusing the referees of favoring the hosts.
“You won't see a clearer 'hip drop tackle,' but you certainly won't see any flags because it's the Kansas City Chiefs,” they wrote.
A second fan asked: 'So this textbook hip tackle on the Texans' first possession wasn't called, but will Anderson be called for roughing up Mahomes?' Make it make sense.'
A third then concluded: “Chiefs playoff favoritism is in full effect.”