Very little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a tough game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
And still he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a win before an interception in the last moments sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.
Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained significant yardage on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We must find a way, and we didn’t.”
Proved tough for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and pressured four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.
Whenever they hit our quarterback a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a healthy way to play and it isn't a smart way to keep our quarterback healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”
Allen was sluggish 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 fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a couple personally. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”
Allen surrendered 70 yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had 2.5 sacks to top the Texans. Another sack occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender rose and chased him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.
The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was earlier benched for the first series of a loss to New England in the fifth week after also being delayed for a team session.
No change. We are approaching it one day at a time,” the coach said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the players that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Khalil Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 rushing yards and a score.
Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and whatever circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we came up short.”
