Allen Sacked 8 Times as Late Interception Seals Fate of Bills in Loss to Texans

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

Yet he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.

The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained 44 yards on a short pass from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.

Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender picked off Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left.

“We had a opportunity to win it there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and we didn’t.”

Proved difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after producing six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they pressure our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We need to play better.”

Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being contacted so frequently during the game.

“It’s not fun,” he said. “I encountered a few myself. I need to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”

The Bills' QB surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.

Buffalo competed for a second straight game without wideout Keon Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the first series of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after also being late for a team session.

“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” the coach noted. “I felt he had a better week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the best chance.”

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

Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t execute down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”
Beverly Cunningham
Beverly Cunningham

A tech journalist and digital lifestyle expert with over a decade of experience reviewing gadgets and exploring emerging technologies.