Josh Allen throws interception in final seconds to seal Bills' 23-19 loss to Texans

HOUSTON (AP) — Little went right for Josh Allen in a frustrating game Thursday night against the Houston Texans.

And still he came close to willing the Buffalo Bills to a victory before an interception in the final minute sealed their fate in a 23-19 loss.

Allen took consecutive sacks on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo (7-4) gained 44 yards on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

After a false-start penalty created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo (7-4), Calen Bullock picked off Allen's pass at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.

“We had a chance to win it there at the end,” Allen said. “We did a good job of staying in it and our defense bailed us out a couple of times. We’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”

It was tough for Allen to get anything going on a night he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit four other times. Allen threw for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay last week.

“When they hit our quarterback 12 times, I don’t like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I don’t like that stat at all. It’s just not a healthy way to play and it’s not a good way to keep our quarterback healthy for the rest of the season. We’ve got to play better.”

Allen was slow to get up after a sack in the first half. He said he was OK and that his left shoulder “went a little numb” after he landed on it awkwardly. He was asked about being hit so many times on Thursday.

“It’s not fun,” he said. “I ran into a couple myself. I’ve got to be better at throwing the ball away. Too many times, I was going backwards.”

Allen lost 70 yards on the eight sacks. Will Anderson Jr. had 2 1/2 sacks to lead the Texans. His second one came when he almost took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and chased him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.

The Bills played for a second straight game without receiver Keon Coleman after he was again a healthy scratch after he was late to a team meeting before their last game. He was previously benched for the first series of a loss to New England in Week 5 after also being late for a meeting.

“Nothing new. We’re just taking it one day at a time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a better week, but we’re taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thought about, but we went with the guys that give us the best chance.”

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

Allen was disappointed that the Bills couldn’t make plays down the stretch.

“Ultimately, we’ve got to execute, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight,” he said. “Whatever situation and whatever circumstance, we’ve got to find a way, and we didn’t.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Houston Texans' Danielle Hunter, left, and Tommy Togiai, center, sack Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) in the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is pressured out of the pocket by Houston Texans' Danielle Hunter (55) and Mario Edwards Jr. (97) in the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen takes a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Houston Texans linebacker Henry To'oTo'o (39) in the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Impact player substitute Sameer Rizvi struck a half-century as Delhi Capitals overcame a top-order order collapse and beat Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in its opening game of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Rizvi anchored Delhi to 145-4 in 17.1 overs with an unbeaten 70 off 47 balls after coming in for Thangarasu Natarajan in the fourth over.

Lucknow had earlier collapsed to 141 all in 18.4 overs after Delhi skipper Axar Patel won the toss on a wicket where fast bowlers found plenty of swing with the new ball.

Delhi ran into early trouble in the chase when it collapsed to 26-4 in the fifth over before Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs (39 not out) of South Africa featured in a match-winning 119-run stand.

“Playing at home, you know the conditions and that helped as my state league takes place here,” Rizvi said. “Stubbs said ‘respect the conditions’ (and) once we were set, we knew we could play our natural game.”

Lokesh Rahul got dismissed on Mohammad Shami’s first ball when he holed out at deep point while going for an extravagant inside shot over the cover, and pace bowler Mohsin Khan found the outside edge of Nitish Rana’s bat.

Fast bowler Prince Yadav then picked up the wickets of Sri Lankan Pathum Nissanka, who skied a mistimed pull to diving wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and clean bowled Patel of the next ball before Rizvi and Stubbs revived the chase.

Rizvi was the aggressor of the two, hitting four sixes and five boundaries while Stubbs’ 32-ball knock featured three fours and a six.

Earlier, Lucknow struggled from the onset against the pace of Mukesh Kumar (0-17) in the power play while Lungi Ngidi (3-27) and Natarajan (3-29) intelligently varied their pace.

Pant promoted himself as an opener but was run-out in the third over when Kumar couldn’t hold onto a sharp return catch of Mitchell Marsh, but the ball deflected onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Pant out of crease.

“Best way to recover from my dismissal is to ignore it as you can’t control it,” Pant said. "The way we batted, we couldn’t get a partnership for long ... there was enough help with the new ball, but you can’t put pressure on the opposition with 140."

Marsh made 35 off 28 before he holed out to mid-off against Kuldeep Yadav’s (2-31) googly in the 10th over. Ngidi, bowling round the wicket, baffled experienced Nicholas Pooran with a dipping slower ball as the West Indian left-hander tried to flick but missed the line completely and was clean bowled for run-a-ball 8.

Abdul Samad charged briefly and top-scored with 36 off 25 balls before falling to Natarajan in the 18th over as Ngidi polished off the tail quickly with two more slower balls to tailenders Anrich Nortje and Khan.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Delhi Capitals' Lungi Ngidi, right, celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Lucknow Super Giants' Nicholas Pooran during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow, India, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Delhi Capitals' Lungi Ngidi, right, listens to captain Axar Patel before bowling his next delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow, India, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Delhi Capitals' Sameer Rizvi, right, and batting partner Tristan Stubbs encourage each other during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow, India, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Delhi Capitals' Sameer Rizvi bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow, India, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)