🔗 Share this article

Very little clicked for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating game on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.

And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.

The quarterback took consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw 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 the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off Allen’s throw at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining.

“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “We did a good job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”

It was difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they hit our quarterback a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I don’t like that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”

Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the first half. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so frequently during the game.

“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I need to be better at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to lead the Texans. Another sack occurred when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.

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 earlier benched for the opening drive of a loss to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a meeting.

“Nothing new. We are approaching it day by day,” the coach said. “I felt he had a better week, but we’re handling it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”

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

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

In the end, we’ve got execute, and we failed to do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “No matter the scenario and any condition, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”