‘He made some bad passes’: Texans defense throttled, bottled up Bills star quarterback Josh Allen into shaky performance

HOUSTON – Josh Allen was in the eye of a frequently perfect defensive storm that combined aggressive, controlled pass rush and sound outside coverage combined with a lack of healthy downfield weapons.

For one of the most elusive and dangerous quarterbacks in the game and a potential MVP candidate, it was an extremely rough day at the office against the Texans’ stout defense Sunday. It was a historically futile performance and stat line by the Buffalo Bills’ star dual-threat quarterback. It was the least efficient passing day by an NFL quarterback since Seattle Seahawks quarterback Stan Gelbaugh went 9 for 31 on Dec. 13, 1992 against the Philadelphia Eagles as he averaged 2.1 yards per pass and finished with 66 yards.

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Allen completed just 9 of 30 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown pass and zero interceptions for a season-low 56.4 passer rating. He was sacked once, but was hit nine times and was relentlessly chased out of the pocket and forced into awkward positions as he tried to find someone open. His leading receiver was tight end Dalton Kincaid with two catches for 34 yards on six targets as the Bills were playing without injured leading receiver Khalil Shakir. The Bills sorely missed the presence of four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs, now playing his trade for the Texans after an offseason trade and caught six passes for 82 yards against his former NFL employer Sunday during a 23-20 victory at NRG Stadium.

The Bills’ wide receivers had catches on four of 18 targets combined.

“Limiting Josh, who is a great player, is a tough out for us,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, the architect of the defense in tandem with defensive coordinator Matt Burke. “It took a valiant effort from everybody. It was a collective effort. D-line knew we weren’t going to get many sacks against him, because he’s so elusive in the pocket. We had to keep rushing and keep the pressure on him.

“They did a great job keeping the pressure on him and our back-end guys, the way they covered, that was the reason why we played tight coverage and made the plays we needed to make. It was that collective effort of rush and coverage being tied together.”

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The Bills went 3 for 14 (21.1 percent on third downs) and generated just 276 yards of total offense. They had more success running the football with James Cook and Allen than anything else as the Bills rushed for 150 yards on 28 carries.

“The biggest thing was getting him under pressure,” Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter said. “We made him scramble out of the pocket. He made some bad throws. We stuck with the game plan and it worked.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott was rightfully and heavily criticized for bad game management that allowed the Texans to get the football back in time for a game-winning 59-yard field goal from kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn as time expired. If the Bills had run more time off the clock instead of three consecutive incomplete passes followed by a punt, they could have likely went to overtime and had another chance to win the game and complete a comeback from a 20-3 deficit.

The Bills are now the lone team in the NFL over the past five decades to be tied or leading in the last minute of regulation inside their own five-yard line and try three consecutive passes with no runs.

“That’s on me, the end-of-game situation on offense,” McDermott said. “We’re in a tough situation. They were holding three timeouts. They got a good field goal kicker. We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and that’s on me. We didn’t do that there, and that’s my fault.”

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Considering that the Bills didn’t turn the football over and the Texans had an interception and a lost fumble from quarterback C.J. Stroud, the win is even more impressive for the Texans. That hadn’t happened previously, going plus-2 or better in turnover margin, in the Allen era for 30 consecutive games.

Allen briefly left the game when he got his head hit the turf in the fourth quarter, replaced by backup Mitchell Trubisky. He was quickly cleared under the mandatory NFL concussion protocol.

Allen was nearly intercepted twice by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, but he couldn’t haul in passes

“It starts with making better decisions on my part, and I know I didn’t complete the ball at a high rate,” Allen said. “Put the ball in harm’s way, especially early in that first half,” Allen said. “But I trust our guys. I know you guys are going to be wild this week, but love my guys and we’re going to keep working and this isn’t a defining moment in our season. It’s a chance to learn and grow from this, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. made some key plays, including a pass breakup.

“Everybody else was on the other side of the field, so I figured the ball was coming my way,” Stingley said. “The person I was on is a fast receiver, but he wasn’t really running off the line. So, all of a sudden he stopped and I got my eyes back and made a play on the ball. At the end of the day, we won obviously. It’s still a lot we got to clean up. Hopefully, we can fix it.”

To be 4-1 and to beat a quality Bills opponent and quarterback like Allen is significant.

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“It’s good,” Stingley said. “It’s football. It’s good for the team. Being able to make plays against a quarterback like that knowing what he wants to do and how he wants to do it, you try to minimize what he’s been doing early this season.”

Texans rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter allowed a touchdown to wide receiver Keon Coleman when he missed an open-field tackle. That represented the Bills’ biggest play of the game.

“Really on that play, he ran a good route,” Lassiter said. “What I’m most disappointed with myself is missing the tackle. If I get him down, we get to live another down. It’s just something you watch the film on nad clean up and correct. I did a good job of next play mentality and my teammates had my back and trusted me.”

Overall, though, the Texans held Allen and the Bills passing game in check.

“It means a lot, very good team, playing in front of our home crowd, playing in front of our fans, we wanted to get a W and we did that,” Lassiter said. “I feel like we were able to play complementary football, rush and coverage working hand in hand and we play for each other.”

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The Texans have been getting a lot of quality defensive snaps from Lassiter, an immediate starter, and rookie safety Calen Bullock, who filled in when veteran safety Jimmie Ward aggravated his groin injury and left the game. There is concern that Ward may need to miss a game or more due to the injury, according to league sources. Bullock nearly allowed a touchdown, but Mack Hollins couldn’t haul in an Allen deep throw.

“Kamari and Calen have been playing outstanding for us,” Ryans said. “I really love both of those guys and what they’re doing as young players. They don’t flinch. No matter what happens. They don’t flinch, they keep battling, and they play the game the right way. I love having both of those guys back there.”

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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com