🔗 Share this article

Little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a frustrating contest Thursday night against the Texans.

And still he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss.

The quarterback endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who flipped a backward pass to another teammate.

Following a false-start penalty created a fourth down situation for the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.

We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of hanging tough and our defensive unit bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”

Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and hit four other times. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after producing six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.

“When they pressure our QB a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to play and it isn't a good way to keep our field general healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”

Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being contacted so many times on Thursday.

“It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Texans. Another sack occurred when he nearly sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson got up and chased him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo played for a second straight game absent wideout Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a team session.

No change. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re handling it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we went with the guys that provide the optimal opportunity.”

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

The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.

“Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”