Dave Portnoy rips NFL referees in furious rant over holding penalty against Bills' Dion Dawkins - "Makes me want to puke"

Dave Portnoy was not mincing words after yet another contentious penalty, this time on Dion Dawkins, reared its head during the Bills' AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Ravens. The Buffalo defense had done a great job in the previous drive to pick off Lamar Jackson, who overthrew his receiver. After both teams scored on the opening possessions, it looked as if this could be the turning point.

However, it did not quite work out that way as Dion Dawkins was penalized for a holding call. On replay, it did not look as if the Bills' offensive lineman had done anything wrong. The visiting Ravens' defender looked overmatched as he went down under pressure and Josh Allen looked comfortable releasing a pass. But the referees' call pulled back the play and eventually the score remained tied at 7-7 when the home team got off the field.

Dave Portnoy could not believe what he was seeing and said,

"Listen, I honestly don't know what we're doing in this league. This is a billion-dollar league, and you've got officials, the most important players in the field. This is a holding? Like, that's a holding? It's a turnover. How are we letting these novice, sucky refs determine it. Makes me want to puke. Horrible."

Dion Dawkins has reason to feel better after Bills' defense responds to referees' holding call

Dave Portnoy wants the league to make the referees more accountable and eliminate, what he thinks, are wrong decisions. However, the Bills' defense did not have the patience to wait that long. They again forced a turnover on the next Ravens possession after Lamar Jackson's interception.

Damar Hamlin tackled the Baltimore quarterback and caused him to lose control of the ball in snowy conditions. Before anyone from the visiting team could react, Von Miller scooped up the ball and ran towards the endzone. The former Broncos defender has some experience stripping dual-threat MVP quarterbacks in playoff games; just ask Cam Newton.

It set up the Bills close to the Ravens endzone and Josh Allen took care of the rest from close range to give the home team a 14-7 lead. While fans packed in the stadium were celebrating, the visitors had reason to worry because their quarterback seemed to be picking up some bad habits in the postseason. Even though the referees bailed him out one time with a holding call on Dion Dawkins, according to Dave Portnoy, his next mistake was punished ruthlessly.