Little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing game on Thursday evening versus the Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an late pick in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen took consecutive tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
“We had a opportunity to win it there at the end,” Josh Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of hanging tough and our defensive unit bailed us out a few instances. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for Allen to get anything going on a night he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and pressured four other times. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after accounting for six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they pressure our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat 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 improve our performance.”
Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the first half. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so frequently during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. Too many times, I found myself going backwards.”
Allen lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson rose and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills played for a second consecutive matchup without wideout Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier held out for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in Week 5 after also being late for a meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it day by day,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir topped the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t make plays in crucial moments.
In the end, we must perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and any circumstance, we need to discover a solution, and we came up short.”
