Very little went right for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night versus the Houston Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a close defeat.
The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, a Texans defender picked off Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.
We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defensive unit saved us a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.
“When they hit 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 compete and it’s not a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I ran into a couple myself. I need to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”
Allen lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to lead the Texans. Another sack occurred when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second straight game without wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a meeting.
No change. We are approaching it one day at a time,” McDermott noted. “I felt 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.”
Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 yards and a score.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t make plays down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we must execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he said. “No matter the situation and whatever condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
