Allen Sacked 8 Occasions as Final-Minute Pickoff Seals Fate of Bills in Defeat to Houston

Little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing game Thursday night versus the Texans.

Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.

Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) picked up 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who flipped a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.

“We had a opportunity to win it there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defensive unit bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got figure it out, and we didn’t.”

It was tough for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they hit our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a smart way to preserve our quarterback in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”

Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the first half. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being hit so many times during the game.

It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a few personally. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”

Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half sacks to lead the Texans. His second one came when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt in the third quarter.

The Bills played for a second consecutive matchup without receiver Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after also being delayed for a meeting.

No change. We are taking it day by day,” McDermott said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”

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

The quarterback was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we failed to do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and any condition, we need to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
Thomas Rice
Thomas Rice

A software engineer and tech writer with over 8 years of experience in web development and digital innovation.