🔗 Share this article Josh Allen Taken Down 8 Times as Final-Minute Interception Seals Fate of Bills in Defeat to Houston Very little went right for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night against the Texans. And still he came close to driving the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 loss. Allen took consecutive tackles for loss on the team's final possession, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (with seven wins) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to Khalil Shakir. Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, a Texans defender intercepted Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left. We possessed a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a good job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a few instances. We’ve got figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.” Proved tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst on eight occasions and hit four additional instances. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a win over the Buccaneers last week. Whenever they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We’ve got to improve our performance.” Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack 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 asked about being contacted so many times on Thursday. “It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a couple personally. I need to be better at throwing the ball away. On multiple occasions, I found myself going backwards.” The Bills' QB lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. His second one came when he nearly took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender got up and chased him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter. The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was once more a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was earlier benched for the opening drive of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after additionally being delayed for a meeting. “Nothing new. We’re just approaching it one day at a time,” the coach noted. “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.” Shakir topped the Bills with eight catches for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 yards and a score. Allen was disappointed that the team couldn’t execute in crucial moments. “Ultimately, we must execute, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”