Little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating game Thursday night versus the Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.
Allen took consecutive tackles for loss on the Bills’ last drive, resulting in a long fourth down, but Buffalo (7-4) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a backward pass to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed a solid job of hanging tough and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst eight times and hit four other times. The QB passed for 253 yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six TDs in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.
“When they pressure our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach McDermott said. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It’s just not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a good way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”
Josh Allen was slow to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was fine and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so many times during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I ran into a few personally. I’ve got to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I was losing ground.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to top the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt in the third quarter.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier held out for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in the fifth week after also being late for a meeting.
No change. We are approaching it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the best chance.”
Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to execute in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever scenario and whatever condition, we need to discover a solution, and we came up short.”
