Very little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen endured consecutive tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, resulting in a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
After a false-start penalty created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left.
We possessed a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and we didn’t.”
It was difficult for Allen to get anything going on a evening he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they hit our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it’s not a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the remaining games. We need to play better.”
Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was OK and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit 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. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”
Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Texans. Another sack came when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.
Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously benched for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We’re just taking it day by day,” the coach noted. “I felt he had a improved 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 give us the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a score.
The quarterback was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we failed to do a good job of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever scenario and any circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
