Josh Allen Sacked 8 Occasions as Final-Minute Interception Seals Fate of Bills in Loss to Texans
Very little went right for Josh Allen in a disappointing game on Thursday evening against the Houston Texans.
Yet he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an late pick in the last moments sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.
The quarterback took consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.
Following a false-start penalty created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender picked off the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”
Proved difficult for Allen to get anything going on a night he was sacked a personal-worst eight times and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.
Whenever they pressure our quarterback 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the remaining games. We need to play better.”
Allen was slow to rise after a sack in the first half. He said he was fine and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so frequently during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a few personally. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender rose and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
Buffalo competed for a second straight game without receiver Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a loss to New England in the fifth week after also being late for a team session.
No change. We are taking it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re handling it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir led the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
Allen was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t make plays down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he said. “Whatever scenario and any circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”