Very little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating contest on Thursday evening against the Texans.
And still he nearly managed to driving the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an late pick in the last moments sealed their fate in a close loss.
The quarterback took back-to-back sacks on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) gained significant yardage on a short pass from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.
Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s throw at the Houston 9 with under half a minute left.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a couple of times. We must figure it out, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and pressured four additional instances. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a win over the Buccaneers last week.
Whenever they hit our quarterback 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a safe way to play and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”
Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the first half. He indicated he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so frequently during the game.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a few personally. I’ve got to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I was losing ground.”
Allen lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had two and a half sacks to top the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and the defender got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup without wideout Keon Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously benched for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a team session.
No change. We’re just approaching it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
The quarterback was disappointed that the team couldn’t make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he said. “Whatever scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”
