Very little clicked for the Bills' quarterback in a disappointing contest on Thursday evening against the Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a close loss.
Allen took consecutive sacks on the team's final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
Following 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 24 seconds left.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the end,” Josh Allen said. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
Proved tough for the signal-caller to get anything going on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
Whenever they pressure our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it isn't a good way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Allen was slow to rise 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 in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being hit so many times during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I ran into a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I found myself going backwards.”
Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Texans. Another sack occurred when he nearly sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender rose and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit 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 benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after also being late for a meeting.
No change. We are taking it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t execute in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”
