Josh Allen Sacked 8 Times as Late Interception Seals Fate of Bills in Defeat to Houston

Very little went well for Josh Allen in a frustrating contest Thursday night against the Texans.

Yet he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a close loss.

The quarterback endured back-to-back sacks on the Bills’ last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.

After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.

We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed 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 sacked a career-high eight times and pressured four other times. The QB passed for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers the previous week.

Whenever they hit 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 compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the remaining games. We need to improve our performance.”

Allen was slow to get up after a sack 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 contacted so many times during the game.

It's unpleasant,” he said. “I ran into a few myself. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I found myself losing ground.”

Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 sacks to lead the Houston defense. His second one came when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender rose and chased him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to result in a punt early in the third.

Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously benched for the opening drive of a defeat to New England in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.

No change. We are approaching it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we opted for the guys that provide the best chance.”

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

The quarterback was disappointed that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.

“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he concluded. “No matter the scenario and whatever condition, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”
Deborah Jackson
Deborah Jackson

Jordan is a passionate sports and gaming enthusiast with over a decade of experience in journalism, dedicated to sharing in-depth stories and trends.

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