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Little went well for Josh Allen in a disappointing contest Thursday night against 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 close loss.

Allen endured consecutive sacks on the team's last drive, resulting in a long fourth down, but Buffalo (7-4) picked up significant yardage on a quick throw from Allen to Josh Palmer, who flipped a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

After a pre-snap infraction created a fourth-and-6 for the Bills, Calen Bullock picked off the quarterback's throw at the Houston 9 with under half a minute left.

“We had a chance to win it there at the conclusion,” Allen stated. “Our team performed a solid job of staying in it and our defensive unit saved us a few instances. We’ve got find a way, and we didn’t.”

It was difficult for Allen to establish rhythm on a night he was brought down a personal-worst eight times and pressured four other times. The QB passed for 253 yards with a pair of picks and zero scores after producing six touchdowns in a victory over the Buccaneers the previous week.

“When they pressure our QB a dozen times, that's unacceptable,” Buffalo's head coach McDermott commented. “I disapprove of that statistic at all. It is not a safe way to compete and it isn't a smart way to keep our field general in good shape for the remaining games. We need to play better.”

Allen was sluggish to rise after a tackle in the opening two quarters. He said he was OK and that his shoulder “went a little numb” after he fell on it in an awkward manner. He was asked about being hit so many times on Thursday.

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

Allen lost 70 total yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 tackles for loss to top the Texans. His second one occurred when he almost took Allen down near the scrimmage line, but he escaped and the defender rose and pursued him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt in the third quarter.

Buffalo played for a second consecutive matchup without receiver Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their last game. He was earlier held out for the opening drive of a defeat to New England in Week 5 after additionally being delayed for a team session.

“Nothing new. We’re just approaching it one day at a time,” the coach noted. “I thought he had a improved week, but we’re taking it step by step. It was not that it was ignored, but we opted for the guys that give us the optimal opportunity.”

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

The quarterback was disappointed that the team were unable to execute in crucial moments.

“Ultimately, we must perform, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he concluded. “Whatever scenario and any circumstance, we’ve got to discover a solution, and we came up short.”