Little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a tough contest Thursday night versus the Houston Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a close defeat.
Allen took back-to-back tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender picked off the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with under half a minute left.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a good job of staying in it and our defense saved us a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
It was difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and pressured four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after accounting for six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it’s not a good way to preserve our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was OK and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being hit so frequently on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a couple myself. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was losing ground.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Houston defense. Another sack came when he nearly took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and the defender rose and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt in the third quarter.
The Bills played for a second straight game absent receiver Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a loss to New England in Week 5 after additionally being late for a team session.
“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a better week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the best chance.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Bills with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to execute down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “No matter the scenario and whatever condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
