Allen Sacked 8 Occasions as Final-Minute Interception Seals Fate of Buffalo in Defeat to Texans

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

Yet he came close to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute ended their hopes in a close defeat.

The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to a receiver, who flipped a lateral to another teammate.

After a false-start penalty created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.

We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the end,” Allen said. “Our team performed a good job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”

Proved tough for Allen to get anything going on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they pressure our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I don’t like that stat at all. It is not a safe way to play and it isn't a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We’ve got to improve our performance.”

Josh Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his 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 said. “I encountered a couple myself. I need to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he nearly sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt in the third quarter.

The Bills played for a second consecutive matchup absent wideout Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was late to a team meeting before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the first series of a defeat to New England in Week 5 after additionally being late for a team session.

“Nothing new. We are taking it one day at a time,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”

Shakir led the Bills with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.

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

“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever scenario and whatever circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”