Little went right for Josh Allen in a frustrating game on Thursday evening against the Texans.
And still he nearly managed to driving the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.
Allen took consecutive tackles for loss on the Bills’ last drive, resulting in a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.
“We had a chance to win it there at the end,” Josh Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
It was tough for Allen to get anything going on a night he was brought down a personal-worst on eight occasions and pressured four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores 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 Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the remaining games. We’ve got to play better.”
Josh Allen was slow to get up after a sack in the first half. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so many times during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a few personally. I’ve got to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
Allen lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and the defender got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt in the third quarter.
Buffalo played for a second straight game without wideout Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a team session.
“Nothing new. We’re just taking it day by day,” the coach said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re handling it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir led the Bills with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays down the stretch.
In the end, we must execute, and we failed to do a good job of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever scenario and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
