Very little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to driving the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
Following a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for the Bills, a Texans defender picked off Allen’s pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a couple of times. We must find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and pressured four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after accounting for six TDs in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.
“When they pressure our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”
Allen was slow to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being hit so frequently during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a few personally. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had two and a half sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender rose and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter.
Buffalo played for a second straight game absent wideout Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a meeting.
No change. We are taking it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”
Khalil Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t make plays down the stretch.
In the end, we must perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “No matter the scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”
