Very little went right for Josh Allen in a disappointing game on Thursday evening versus the Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the last moments sealed their fate in a close loss.
The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.
Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender picked off the quarterback's pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved tough for Allen to get anything going on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
Whenever they hit our QB a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach McDermott commented. “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 field general healthy for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was fine and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a few myself. I need to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”
The Bills' QB 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 came when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson rose and pursued him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter.
The Bills competed for a second straight game without receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was late to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to New England in Week 5 after additionally being late for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We are approaching it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I thought he had a improved week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to execute down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we failed to do a good job of that this evening,” he said. “Whatever scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”
