Dave Portnoy: Why Patrick Mahomes is disgracing the game and ruining his legacy after huge NFL playoff win
Dave Portnoy joined the many angry NFL fans who lashed out at Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs with accusations of cheating.
The Chiefs kept their bid for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl alive with a 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the NFL Divisional Round Saturday.
However, despite punching the Chiefs’ ticket to the AFC Championship, Mahomes received backlash from fans, including Portnoy who claimed the quarterback disgraced the game.
With Kansas City leading just 13-12 in the fourth quarter, Mahomes ran out of bounds on second down but slowed before getting out.
The two-time MVP was then pushed out of bounds by Houston’s Henry To’oTo’o before raising his arms in the air and falling to the ground.
And Portnoy slammed the signal caller for ‘flopping’, claiming it damaged his reputation as a player.

Dave Portnoy (right) hit off Patrick Mahomes (left) for flopping during Saturday’s game

The Barstool founder took to social media to claim the quarterback was ruining his legacy
‘Maholmes (sic) is a great player. No need to disgrace the game and ruin its legacy with this flopping bulls***,” the Barstool founder wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside a clip of the incident.
Portnoy was not alone in his anger. Despite no flag being thrown on the play, which immediately preceded a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, fans were furious with Mahomes.
“That flop makes Mahomes so damn unlikable…” someone wrote on X.
“Ridiculous attempt at a flop after already getting SEVERAL questionable rough calls in this game. This is why people outside of KC don’t like Mahomes,” another added.
And a third said: “As someone who absolutely loves him, that blatant flop from Mahomes is so disappointing. He’s so much better than having to resort to that kind of bull***t.’
That sentiment was even echoed on air by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman, who said Mahomes was trying to initiate contact.
‘He tries to draw the penalty. Instead of just running out of bounds, he slows down,” Aikman said. “And that was the frustration and I understand it. I understand. That’s the frustration of these defensive players across the league.”
And Apple TV MLS analyst Taylor Twellman also joined in, sarcastically writing, “I can’t watch football because the players are diving and flopping all the time,” along with crying and laughing emojis.

The Kansas City Chiefs star was criticized by fans for ‘flopping’ against the Houston Texans
Mahomes’ so-called fourth-quarter flop came after To’oTo’o was penalized for unnecessary roughness a quarter earlier when he hit a sliding Mahomes.
After dropping the snap, Mahomes rushed for a short gain before deciding to give himself up as Folorunso Fatukasi and To’oTo’o quickly closed in.
Meanwhile, the Texans were awarded another penalty earlier in the game when Will Anderson Jr. was controversially penalized for roughing the passer after hitting Mahomes a split second after releasing the ball in the first quarter.
And Portnoy was just as furious about that call, accusing NFL referees of “cheating” at Arrowhead.
“The good news is the Texans are dominating and their defense is flying around. The bad news is that the referees cheat and lose,” the Barstool founder wrote on X.