Little went right for Josh Allen in a tough game on Thursday evening against the Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.
Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, resulting in a long fourth down, but Buffalo (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a backward pass to another teammate.
After a false-start penalty led to a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining.
We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen said. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
“When they hit our QB 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a healthy way to play and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Josh Allen was slow to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so many times during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was going backwards.”
Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent wideout Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was earlier held out for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a better week, but we are taking it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the Bills were unable to make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “No matter the situation and whatever condition, we need to discover a solution, and we came up short.”
