Allen Sacked 8 Occasions as Final-Minute Pickoff Seals Fate of Bills in Defeat to Texans

Very little went well for Josh Allen in a disappointing contest on Thursday evening versus the Houston 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.

Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.

“We had a opportunity to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We must figure it out, and we didn’t.”

Proved difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. The QB threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay the previous week.

“When they hit our QB a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It’s just not a healthy way to compete and it’s not a smart way to preserve our field general healthy for the remaining games. We need to play better.”

Allen was slow to rise after a tackle in the first half. He indicated he was fine and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so frequently on Thursday.

It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a few personally. I’ve got to be better at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”

The Bills' QB surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and pursued him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo competed for a second straight game absent receiver Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a loss to New England in Week 5 after additionally being late for a meeting.

No change. We are approaching it one day at a time,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are handling it one day at a time. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”

Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Allen was frustrated that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.

“Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he said. “No matter the scenario and any circumstance, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”