🔗 Share this article Allen Taken Down 8 Times as Final-Minute Interception Seals Fate of Buffalo in Defeat to Texans Little went well for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night versus the Texans. And still he nearly managed to driving the Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute ended their hopes in a 23-19 defeat. The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the Bills’ last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) gained 44 yards on a quick throw from Josh Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a lateral to another teammate. Following a false-start penalty led to a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s pass at the 9-yard line with under half a minute remaining. “We had a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Josh Allen said. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defense saved us a couple of times. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.” It was tough for the signal-caller to get anything going on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after producing six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week. Whenever they pressure our QB 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a safe way to play and it isn't a good way to preserve our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We’ve got to play better.” Josh Allen was slow to rise after a tackle in the first half. He indicated he was fine and that his left shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so frequently on Thursday. It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a few myself. I’ve got to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I found myself going backwards.” The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Anderson had 2.5 sacks to top the Texans. His second one occurred when he almost sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and pursued him downfield to drop him for an 18-yard loss to result in a punt in the third quarter. The Bills competed for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a non-participant after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their previous contest. He was previously benched for the first series of a loss to the Patriots in Week 5 after also being late for a team session. “Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” the coach said. “I felt he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we went with the players that give us the best chance.” Khalil Shakir led the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 yards and Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown. Allen was frustrated that the Bills couldn’t make plays down the stretch. In the end, we must perform, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “No matter the scenario and whatever condition, we need to find a way, and we didn’t.”