Little went right for Josh Allen in a frustrating contest on Thursday evening against the Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a close defeat.
The quarterback took back-to-back sacks on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a few instances. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
It was difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and hit four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay the previous week.
“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a healthy way to compete and it’s not a good way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being contacted so frequently on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a couple myself. I need to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to top the Texans. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson rose and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup without receiver Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch 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 the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being late for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a better week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
The quarterback was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”
