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Very little went well for Josh Allen in a tough game Thursday night versus the Houston Texans.

Yet he nearly managed to willing the Bills to a victory before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 defeat.

The quarterback took back-to-back tackles for loss on the team's last drive, resulting in a fourth-and-27, but the Bills (7-4) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.

After a false-start penalty created a fourth down situation for Buffalo, Calen Bullock intercepted the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left.

“We had a opportunity to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “We did a solid job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We must find a way, and unfortunately we failed.”

Proved tough for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was sacked a personal-worst eight times and hit four other times. Allen threw for 253 passing yards with two interceptions and zero scores after accounting for six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay the previous week.

“When they pressure our QB 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that stat at all. It’s just not a healthy way to compete and it isn't a smart way to preserve our quarterback healthy for the remaining games. We’ve got to play better.”

Josh Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the opening two quarters. He said he was fine and that his shoulder “lost some feeling” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being hit so frequently on Thursday.

It's unpleasant,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at disposing of the football. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

The Bills' QB surrendered 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Anderson had 2.5 sacks to lead the Houston defense. Another sack occurred when he almost sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and Anderson rose and pursued him across the field to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo competed for a second straight game without wideout 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 the Patriots in Week 5 after also being late for a meeting.

“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it day by day,” the coach said. “I thought he had a improved week, but we are taking it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that provide the optimal opportunity.”

Shakir topped the Buffalo with eight catches for 110 yards and James Cook had 116 yards and a touchdown.

Allen was frustrated that the Bills were unable to make plays down the stretch.

In the end, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and whatever circumstance, we need to find a way, and we came up short.”