Very little went well for the Bills' quarterback in a disappointing game on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.
And still he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an late pick in the last moments sealed their fate in a close defeat.
Allen took consecutive tackles for loss on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) gained 44 yards on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a backward pass to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, a Texans defender picked off the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a good job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and we didn’t.”
It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was brought down a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
“When they hit our quarterback a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I don’t like that stat at all. It is not a safe way to play and it’s not a good way to preserve our quarterback healthy for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”
Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the first half. He indicated he was fine and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being contacted so frequently during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I ran into a few personally. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender got up and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
The Bills played for a second consecutive matchup without receiver Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the first series of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after additionally being late for a meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It was not that it was ignored, but we went with the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Allen was frustrated that the team couldn’t execute down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and whatever condition, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”
