Very little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating game on Thursday evening against the Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an late pick in the last moments ended their hopes in a 23-19 defeat.
The quarterback endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.
Following a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds remaining.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Allen said. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four other times. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after accounting for six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay last week.
“When they hit our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a healthy way to play and it isn't a smart way to preserve our field general healthy for the rest of the season. We need to improve our performance.”
Allen was slow to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being hit so many times on Thursday.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple myself. I need to be better at disposing of the football. Too many times, I found myself going backwards.”
The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to top the Houston defense. His second one came when he almost sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and the defender got up 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 absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was late to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being late for a meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” the coach noted. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Bills with eight receptions for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
The quarterback was frustrated that the Bills were unable to execute down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
