Patriots Superfan Dave Portnoy Feels Bad for Bills Fans, but Not as Much for a Sobbing Josh Allen

Josh Allen arrived late to the postgame podium after the Buffalo Bills’ painful 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in AFC Divisional Round. He was visibly shaken. The quarterback’s voice cracked, and his eyes stayed low as questions were fired at him.

When the words finally came, they cut straight to the point. With tears in his eyes, Allen said he felt like he had “let his teammates down.”

For someone who carried the Bills almost single-handedly to the playoffs this season, an admission like this may come across as an exaggeration. However, there was truth in what Allen was saying. Despite finishing with 283 passing yards, three touchdowns, and 66 rushing yards against the Broncos, it was Allen’s four turnovers that decided Saturday’s knockout game.

Still, the majority of the NFL fans were really empathetic toward Allen, knowing the Bills quarterback’s quality and recognizing that he had an off day at the worst possible time. But Barstool Sports founder and Patriots superfan Dave Portnoy had a different take.

While Portnoy didn’t celebrate Buffalo’s pain, he also didn’t fully empathize with Allen. In a post on X made shortly after the Bills’ loss, Dave was blunt.

“Brutal. Every year. It’s every year. At least Josh has a great life and a gorgeous wife. etc. The people of Buffalo are prob buried under 8 feet of snow right now and have nothing to look forward to till summer hits in late August for a week,” wrote Portnoy.

That phrase, “every year,” in Portnoy’s comment carried weight. Portnoy’s indifference to Allen’s sobbing wasn’t about one bad night. If anything, it had more to do with a pattern that has defined the Buffalo Bills of late.

Allen and company have now reached the playoffs in six straight seasons. During this period, they have won the AFC East five times. However, they remain without a Super Bowl appearance, continuing a franchise drought that dates back to the early 1990s.

In a follow-up video, Portnoy went even harder on the emotional toll of being a Bills fan. Speaking almost in disbelief, he said he didn’t know “how Buffalo fans do it,” describing them like a “little brother” who keeps finding new ways to have their “guts and heart ripped out” every January.

“Nobody deserves to go through the heartache, the pain, the despair, the hopelessness… every single year… I don’t know if I could do it,” added Portnoy.

However, Portnoy drew a clear line when it came to sympathy for Allen. Yes, Allen cried. Yes, he owned the loss. But Portnoy wasn’t moved by the tears.

In Portnoy’s view, the quarterback still walks away with his successful life with his actress wife, Hailee Steinfeld, his 6-year $330 Million contract, and fame that most people could never imagine. All of this while his fanbase gets nothing but another empty winter.

That perspective hardened further when Portnoy addressed the officiating discourse. He acknowledged missed calls on both sides, noting that Buffalo benefited from uncalled holds and pass interference. His point was that calling only one decision truly “egregious”. Portnoy was referring to the Brandin Cooks catch that was ruled an interception for Denver.

Everything else, Portnoy argued, “sorta evened out,” before dropping a very painful conclusion: “I’m not trying to rub it in, but the Bills are the biggest losers of all time in the history of professional sports, right?”

For a Patriots fan who has watched his team lift six Lombardi Trophies, it’s understandable where Portnoy’s arrogance comes from. Buffalo reached the Big Game four consecutive times in the 1990s, but lost in all of them.

Still, using such harsh words just a day before the Patriots face off against the league’s best defense in the Texans is truly bold from Portnoy. If the Pats lose, the Bills Mafia will have reason to troll him with extra venom.