Allen Sacked Eight Times as Final-Minute Pickoff Seals Fate of Buffalo in Defeat to Texans

Little went right for Josh Allen in a disappointing game on Thursday evening against the Houston Texans.

And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a close defeat.

The quarterback endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who flipped a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.

After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for the Bills, a Texans defender picked off the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds remaining.

We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and we didn’t.”

Proved difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and pressured four other times. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they pressure our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it’s not a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.”

Josh Allen was slow to get up after a sack in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was fine and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was asked about being hit so frequently during the game.

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

Allen surrendered 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to top the Texans. His second one occurred when he nearly sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and the defender got up and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.

The Bills competed for a second straight game absent 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 earlier held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in Week 5 after also being late for a team session.

No change. We are taking it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I felt he had a better week, but we’re handling it one day at a time. It was not that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that give us the best chance.”

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

Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to make plays down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “No matter the situation and whatever condition, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”
Andrea Andrews
Andrea Andrews

Elara is an environmental journalist passionate about sustainable technologies and eco-conscious living.

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