Very little went right for the Bills' quarterback in a tough contest on Thursday evening versus the Houston Texans.
Yet he came close to willing the Bills to a win before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a close defeat.
Allen endured consecutive tackles for loss on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.
After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for the Bills, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.
“We had a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Allen said. “Our team performed a good job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a couple of times. We’ve got find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”
It was difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and pressured four other times. Allen threw 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 pressure our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach McDermott said. “I don’t like that stat at all. It is not a safe way to play and it isn't a good way to keep our field general healthy for the remaining games. We need to play better.”
Allen was slow to rise after a sack in the first half. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so many times on Thursday.
It's unpleasant,” he said. “I encountered a few myself. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I was going backwards.”
Allen surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Texans. Another sack came when he nearly sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and Anderson rose and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt early in the third.
The Bills played for a second straight game absent wideout Keon Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their last game. He was earlier held out for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.
“Nothing new. We are taking it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I thought he had a better week, but we are handling it step by step. It was not that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”
Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.
Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t make plays down the stretch.
“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that this evening,” he said. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we came up short.”
