Josh Allen Sacked Eight Occasions as Late Interception Dooms Bills in Loss to Texans
Little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating game Thursday night versus the Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.
Allen endured back-to-back sacks on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.
Following a false-start penalty led to a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, a Texans defender intercepted the quarterback's pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining.
We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they pressure our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart 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 sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being hit so many times on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a couple myself. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had two and a half sacks to top the Houston defense. Another sack occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.
Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after also being delayed for a team session.
“Nothing new. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a better week, but we are taking it step by step. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the players that provide the best chance.”
Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to execute in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”