Little clicked for the Bills' quarterback in a tough game Thursday night versus the Texans.
Yet 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.
Allen endured back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's final possession, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of staying in it and our defense saved us a couple of times. We must figure it out, and we didn’t.”
Proved difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a evening he was brought down a career-high eight times and pressured four other times. Allen passed for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after accounting for six TDs in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.
Whenever they hit our quarterback a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I don’t like that stat at all. It’s just not a safe way to play and it isn't a good way to keep our field general in good shape for the remaining games. We need to play better.”
Allen was sluggish to rise after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He indicated he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so frequently during the game.
“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I ran into a few myself. I need to be more effective at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I found myself losing ground.”
The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks to top the Texans. His second one occurred when he nearly took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and the defender got up and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills played for a second straight game without receiver Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was tardy to a team meeting before their previous contest. 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 meeting.
No change. We’re just taking it day by day,” 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 best chance.”
Shakir led the Bills with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
Allen was frustrated that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.
“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”
