🔗 Share this article

Very little went well for the Bills' quarterback in a tough game Thursday night versus the Texans.

And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.

Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

After a false-start penalty led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds remaining.

“We had a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed a good job of staying in it and our defensive unit bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”

It was tough for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after producing six TDs in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.

“When they hit our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it’s not a good way to keep our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. 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 shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so many times on Thursday.

It's unpleasant,” he said. “I ran into a couple personally. I need to be more effective at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”

Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to lead the Texans. His second one came when he nearly took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson rose and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo competed for a second consecutive matchup without wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was earlier held out for the first series of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after additionally being late for a team session.

“Nothing new. We are approaching it one day at a time,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re taking it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that give us the optimal opportunity.”

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

The quarterback was frustrated that the Bills were unable to execute down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he said. “No matter the scenario and whatever circumstance, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”