Very little went well for the Bills' quarterback in a disappointing game on Thursday evening against the Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the last moments sealed their fate in a close defeat.
Allen took back-to-back sacks on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a lateral to another teammate.
After a false-start penalty created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted the quarterback's pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds remaining.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of staying in it and our defensive unit bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
It was tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and pressured four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay the previous week.
“When they pressure our QB 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it’s not a good way to keep our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We need to improve our performance.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the first half. He indicated he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so many times during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a couple myself. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. Too many times, I found myself going backwards.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he nearly sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson rose and pursued him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt early in the third.
Buffalo competed for a second consecutive matchup absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a team session.
“Nothing new. We’re just taking it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a better week, but we are taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to make plays down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we must execute, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and any circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
