Josh Allen Taken Down 8 Occasions as Final-Minute Interception Dooms Buffalo in Defeat to Texans

Little clicked for Josh Allen in a disappointing game on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.

And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.

The quarterback endured consecutive sacks on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.

After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, Calen Bullock picked off Allen’s pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds remaining.

We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Allen said. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”

Proved tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was brought down a career-high eight times and hit four other times. The QB passed for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay last week.

“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We’ve got to play better.”

Josh Allen was slow to get up after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was fine and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being hit so frequently on Thursday.

“It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a few myself. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was losing ground.”

The Bills' QB lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to top the Houston defense. Another sack came when he nearly sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup without wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously held out for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after also being late for a team session.

No change. We are taking it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are handling it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we went with the players that provide the best chance.”

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

The quarterback was disappointed that the Bills couldn’t execute down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we must perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we need to discover a solution, and we came up short.”