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Little went well for the Bills' quarterback in a tough game Thursday night versus the Texans.

Yet he nearly managed to willing the Buffalo Bills to a win before an interception in the final minute ended their hopes in a close defeat.

The quarterback endured back-to-back sacks on the team's last drive, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to a receiver, who tossed a lateral to another teammate.

Following a pre-snap infraction created a fourth down situation for the Bills, Calen Bullock intercepted Allen’s pass at the Houston 9 with under half a minute remaining.

We possessed a chance to come out on top there at the end,” Josh Allen said. “We did a good job of hanging tough and our defense saved us a few instances. We must figure it out, and we didn’t.”

Proved difficult for the signal-caller to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and hit four additional instances. The QB passed for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after producing six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers last week.

Whenever they hit our quarterback a dozen times, I don’t like that,” Buffalo's head coach Sean McDermott commented. “I don’t like that statistic at all. It is not a healthy way to compete and it’s not a smart way to keep our field general healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”

Allen was sluggish to rise after a sack in the first half. He indicated he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being contacted so many times on Thursday.

“It’s not fun,” he remarked. “I encountered a couple personally. I’ve got to be more effective at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

Allen surrendered 70 total yards on the eight quarterback takedowns. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Houston defense. Another sack came when he nearly sacked the QB near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and Anderson got up and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.

Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup absent receiver Coleman after he was once more a healthy scratch after he was tardy to a squad gathering before their last game. He was previously held out for the first series of a defeat to the Patriots in the fifth week after also being delayed for a meeting.

“Nothing new. We’re just taking it day by day,” McDermott noted. “I felt he had a improved week, but we’re handling it step by step. It wasn’t that it was ignored, but we opted for the players that give us the optimal opportunity.”

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

The quarterback was frustrated that the team were unable to make plays in crucial moments.

“Ultimately, we’ve got execute, and we failed to succeed of that tonight,” he said. “No matter the situation and any circumstance, we need to discover a solution, and we didn’t.”