Allen Sacked Eight Occasions as Late Interception Seals Fate of Buffalo in Defeat to Texans

Little went well for Josh Allen in a disappointing contest Thursday night versus the Texans.

Yet he nearly managed to driving the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 defeat.

The quarterback endured consecutive tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, resulting in a long fourth down, but the Bills (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a short pass from Josh Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to another teammate.

After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.

“We had a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”

Proved tough for Allen to get anything going on a evening he was sacked a career-high on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. The QB passed for 253 yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a win over Tampa Bay the previous week.

“When they pressure our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a smart way to preserve our field general in good shape for the remaining games. We need to improve our performance.”

Allen was slow to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so many times on Thursday.

It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”

Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had two and a half sacks to lead the Texans. Another sack occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo competed for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally 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 improved week, but we are handling it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”

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

Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t execute in crucial moments.

In the end, we must perform, and we didn’t 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.”
Rebecca Sullivan
Rebecca Sullivan

AI strategist and tech entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in developing scalable business solutions.