Allen Sacked Eight Occasions as Late Pickoff Dooms Buffalo in Defeat to Texans

Very little went right for Josh Allen in a frustrating game on Thursday evening against the Texans.

Yet he came close to willing the Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.

Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a long fourth down, but the Bills (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.

Following a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.

“We had a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a few instances. We must find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”

Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a personal-worst eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay last week.

Whenever they pressure our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott said. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a safe way to play and it isn't a smart way to preserve our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”

Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being hit so many times during the game.

“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a few myself. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to top the Texans. Another sack occurred when he nearly sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson rose and pursued him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.

The Bills played for a second straight game absent receiver Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously benched for the first series of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a meeting.

No change. We’re just approaching it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re handling it one day at a time. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”

Shakir topped the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.

Allen was disappointed that the Bills were unable to make plays down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we must perform, and we failed to do a good job of that this evening,” he said. “No matter the situation and whatever condition, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”
Carrie Guerra
Carrie Guerra

Eleanor Hayes is a digital media analyst with a passion for streaming technology and user experience.