Very little went well for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating game on Thursday evening versus the Texans.
And still he came close to driving the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a close loss.
The quarterback endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw 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 under half a minute left.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defense saved us a couple of times. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”
Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they hit our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head 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 healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”
Josh Allen was slow to rise after a tackle in the first half. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”
Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Texans. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson got up and chased him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt in the third quarter.
Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a better week, but we are taking it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we went with the players that give us the best chance.”
Shakir led the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the team couldn’t make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he concluded. “No matter the scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
