Little clicked for the Bills' quarterback in a disappointing contest on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.
The quarterback took back-to-back sacks on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.
“We had a opportunity to win it there at the end,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they pressure our QB a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it isn't a good way to preserve our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was fine and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so frequently during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I ran into a few personally. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I was going backwards.”
Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender rose and chased him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously held out for the opening drive of a loss to New England in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We are approaching it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are handling it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we went with the players that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir topped the Bills with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we failed to do a good job of that tonight,” he said. “No matter the scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
