Little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a tough game Thursday night against the Texans.
Yet he came close to driving the Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a long fourth down, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, a Texans defender intercepted the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the end,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.
“When they pressure our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I don’t like that stat at all. It is not a healthy way to play and it isn't a smart way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the remaining games. We need to improve our performance.”
Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the first half. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a couple myself. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I found myself 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 lead the Texans. His second one 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 force a punt early in the third.
Buffalo played for a second straight game without receiver Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was late to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after also being delayed for a meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it day by day,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we went with the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir led the Bills with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to execute down the stretch.
In the end, we must execute, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and any circumstance, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
