Josh Allen Sacked 8 Times as Late Pickoff Dooms Buffalo in Loss to Texans

Very little went well for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night versus the Houston Texans.

And still he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a close loss.

Allen endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a lateral to another teammate.

Following a false-start penalty led to a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left.

We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a solid job of hanging tough and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”

It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a evening he was sacked a personal-worst eight times and pressured four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with two interceptions and zero scores after accounting for six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.

Whenever they pressure our QB a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach McDermott commented. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it isn't a good way to preserve our field general in good shape 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 OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was questioned about being hit so many times during the game.

It's unpleasant,” 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 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had two and a half tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. His second one came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson got up and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.

The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was earlier held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a team session.

“Nothing new. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are handling it one day at a time. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that give us the best chance.”

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

Allen was frustrated that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.

In the end, we must perform, and we failed to do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “No matter the situation and any circumstance, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”
Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones

Liam Carter is a seasoned journalist specializing in digital media and entertainment, with over a decade of experience covering UK news and culture.