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Little went well for Josh Allen in a disappointing game Thursday night against the Texans.

Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an late pick in the final minute sealed their fate in a close loss.

The quarterback endured consecutive sacks on the team's last drive, leading to a long fourth down, but the Bills (with seven wins) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a backward pass to Khalil Shakir.

After a pre-snap infraction led to a fourth down situation for the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's throw at the 9-yard line with under half a minute left.

We possessed a opportunity to come out on top there at the conclusion,” Allen said. “Our team performed a good job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We must figure it out, and unfortunately we failed.”

It was difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a career-high on eight occasions and hit four other times. The QB threw for 253 passing yards with a pair of picks and no touchdowns after accounting for six TDs in a victory over Tampa Bay last week.

“When they hit our QB 12 times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott said. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It’s just not a healthy way to play and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the rest of the season. We need to play better.”

Allen was sluggish to get up after a tackle in the first half. He said he was fine and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it awkwardly. He was questioned about being hit so many times during the game.

“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I need to be better at disposing of the football. On multiple occasions, I was losing ground.”

The Bills' QB lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Texans. Another sack came when he nearly sacked the QB near the line of scrimmage, but he escaped and the defender rose and pursued him downfield to tackle him for an 18-yard deficit to force a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously held out for the opening drive of a loss to New England in the fifth week after additionally being late for a meeting.

“Nothing new. We’re just taking it day by day,” the coach noted. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re handling it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we went with the guys that provide the optimal opportunity.”

Shakir led the Buffalo with eight receptions for 110 receiving yards and James Cook had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The quarterback was disappointed that the team couldn’t make plays down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we’ve got perform, and we failed to succeed of that this evening,” he concluded. “Whatever situation and any condition, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”