The loss to Houston was literally adding insult to injury for Bills quarterback Josh Allen
Following a loss last weekend on Sunday Night Football in which they were dominated by the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills played their second consecutive game against an AFC division leader this weekend, visiting CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans. For the second straight game, Josh Allen's MVP buzz took a major hit, as the Bills' perennial MVP candidate was held to under 200 yards passing once again.
To make matters worse, this was only the insult added to literal injury.
After the game, Josh Allen was asked about the litany of injuries he sustained during the 23-20 loss to Houston, and particularly on one play in the 4th quarter.
Per Jonathan Acosta of WGRZ-TV in Buffalo:
“Big shot to the chest. Rolled my ankle. They flagged me for hitting my head, but felt good enough to go back in.”
Allen claimed the ankle roll came on the play before he was forced out of the game because of what at the time appeared to be a pretty serious head injury. But after a brief check-in on Buffalo's sideline, Allen was allowed to re-enter and finish out what was arguably one of the worst performances of his career.
Josh Allen completed just 9-of-30 pass attempts and finished the game with only 131 passing yards. He chipped in 54 yards on the ground as well, but all afternoon long, the Bills struggled to get anything going through the air. The only big play in the passing game came thanks to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman, who turned a 10-yard pass into a 49-yard touchdown after breaking one tackle and performing an impressive balancing act along the sideline.
The absence of leading receiver Khalil Shakir likely played a role in the subpar offensive performance, but after back-to-back losses to two of the AFC's best teams, it feels like Buffalo may have bigger problems.
Bills in need of bounce-back win following painful loss to Texans
The Bills are in desperate need of a get-right game in Week 6, but that win won't necessarily be easy to come by. Buffalo travels to New Jersey to face Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Monday Night Football next week. The only consolation may be that Rodgers, who hasn't looked like peak Aaron Rodgers all year, apparently suffered an ankle sprain on Sunday morning during New York's loss in London to the still-unbeaten Minnesota Vikings.
After that, Josh Allen and the Bills get a little relief in the form of a home matchup with the Tennessee Titans. But heading into that October 20th game with Tennessee, the Bills won't want to be staring down a 3-3 record, especially after such an impressive 3-0 start.
