Dave Portnoy Lays Into Tony Romo for Gaffe-Filled Broadcast
It was another rough day for Tony Romo in the booth.
The NFL analyst was on the call for the Buffalo Bills' incredible 27-24 win Sunday over the Jacksonville Jaguars, which featured four lead changes in the fourth quarter, an NFL playoff record.
While viewers' eyes were glued to the TV for the epic affair, many of their ears were bleeding. Romo opened up the broadcast with a garbled word salad about how the AFC South champion Jaguars were the underdog, even though they weren't.
"I don’t think we’ve ever seen it where it’s like, who’s going to win? Ummmm, I don’t know!," he offered. "I’m pretty good at football knowledge and I don’t know. Today’s going to be very telling, though, because Jacksonville is a complete football team. Carolina did that yesterday. They earned the respect, almost won, but they didn’t."
Romo's reference to the Carolina Panthers, who lost a nail-biter at home Saturday to the Los Angeles Rams, was curious. His explanation didn't clear up confusion.
"Jacksonville is in that same situation," he said. "They could do it, this could be a major upset. Even though it’s really not an upset, because the Bills are actually the underdog. But they’re the overdog. We’ll see today.”
The circuitous monologue drew widespread consternation. Nobody expressed more dismay than Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who claimed he could no longer take Romo seriously.
"I want to say that I unequivocally do not believe any Tony Romo observations about Josh Allen or this game in general," he posted.
As it turns out, that was just the beginning of Portnoy's criticism.
I want to say that I unequivocally do not believe any Tony Romo observations about Josh Allen or this game in general.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 11, 2026
Portnoy Rips Romo
A notoriously caustic personality, it's not surprising to hear Portnoy lash into Romo. But it was unusual to hear him do it on the airwaves of another NFL rights holder.
On FS1's Wake Up Barstool Monday, Portnoy laid into Romo in personal terms. Making matters even more peculiar, he was speaking with Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen.
"Romo, I mean come on what was he talking about?," said Portnoy. "He started that game up with the most nonsensical rant I’ve ever heard.”
Dave Portnoy to Greg Olsen on Wake Up Barstool: “Your stock keeps going up. There’s a guy on the other network, he looks like he’s on drugs or something when he’s calling games. Your stock is going up. Congrats for that …. Romo, I mean come on what was he talking about? He…
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) January 12, 2026
More Romo Problems
CBS inked Romo to an eight-year, $200 million contract in 2020, making him the highest-paid NFL analyst in history at the time.
Two years later, the network reportedly staged an "intervention" with their star analyst. His performance Sunday, and the subsequent backlash, indicates it wasn't successful.
CBS really needs to elevate Ian Eagle and JJ Watt over Nantz and Romo. I think Nantz still has the goods, but Romo is distractingly bad
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) January 11, 2026
My biggest issue with Romo is he spends so much time trying to predict plays instead of explaining what happened after the play. Just zero insight on the result of the play. https://t.co/NkYP5ugT11
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 12, 2026
romo on any review:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 11, 2026
oooooooaaaaaaaasaaaaaaoooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwohhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeIdontknowJim
Romo confusing everyone on that Allen TD
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 11, 2026
Romo was a 10/10 when he first started in the booth and surprising to no one he’s now a 2/10 https://t.co/XRoiSzsbeR pic.twitter.com/4u61aggYwe
— Tyler Tamboline (@ToeTagginTambo) January 12, 2026