Little clicked for the Bills' quarterback in a disappointing contest on Thursday evening against the Houston Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the last moments ended their hopes in a 23-19 defeat.
The quarterback endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
Following a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining.
“We had a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was tough for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a evening he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and pressured four additional instances. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
Whenever they pressure our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the remaining games. We need to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish 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 awkwardly. He was asked about being contacted so frequently on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a couple myself. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had two and a half sacks to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender rose and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup without receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We are approaching it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a score.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to execute in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and whatever condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”
