Very little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing contest on Thursday evening against the Houston Texans.
And still he came close to driving the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a close defeat.
Allen endured back-to-back sacks on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but Buffalo (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.
After a false-start penalty led to a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted 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 solid job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after accounting for six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers the previous week.
“When they pressure our QB a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being hit so many times during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a few myself. I need to be more effective at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson rose and chased him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
Buffalo competed for a second straight game absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a team session.
“Nothing new. We are taking it one day at a time,” McDermott noted. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo 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 make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he said. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
