Very little clicked for Josh Allen in a frustrating game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen took consecutive sacks on the team's final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (7-4) gained significant yardage on a short pass from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s throw at the Houston 9 with under half a minute remaining.
“We had a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “We did a good job of staying in it and our defense saved us a few instances. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was tough for Allen to get anything going on a night he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.
Whenever they hit our quarterback a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated 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 hit so many times during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a few myself. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself going backwards.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to top the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender got up and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt in the third quarter.
The Bills played for a second straight game absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was earlier held out for the first series of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after also being late for a team session.
No change. We are approaching it day by day,” the coach noted. “I thought he had a improved week, but we’re handling it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”
Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever scenario and any circumstance, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
