Very little went right for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night versus the Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.
Allen 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 significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.
Following a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, a Texans defender picked off Allen’s throw at the Houston 9 with under half a minute remaining.
“We had a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was difficult for Allen to get anything going on a night he was brought down a career-high on eight occasions and pressured four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers last week.
“When they hit our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to preserve our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a sack in the first half. He indicated 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 hit so frequently during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a couple personally. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself going backwards.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Houston defense. Another sack came when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second straight game without receiver Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We are approaching it day by day,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are handling it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we went with the guys that give us the best chance.”
Khalil Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 yards and James Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t execute 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 condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”
