Very little clicked for Josh Allen in a tough contest on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.
And still he came close to driving the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a close loss.
The quarterback took consecutive tackles for loss on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock picked off Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.
“We had a opportunity to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen said. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and pressured four other times. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I don’t like that stat at all. It is not a safe way to play and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”
Allen was slow to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so frequently on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one came when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson rose and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was late to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the first series of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after also being delayed for a meeting.
No change. We are approaching it day by day,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re handling it step by step. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”
Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
The quarterback was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t make plays in crucial moments.
In the end, we’ve got execute, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he said. “No matter the scenario and whatever condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”
