Buffalo QB Allen injures elbow in 20-13 loss to Houston

HOUSTON (AP) — Buffalo rookie quarterback Josh Allen's status for next week is uncertain after he left the Bills' loss to the Houston Texans late in the third quarter Sunday with an elbow injury.

Coach Sean McDermott said after the 20-13 loss that the Bills were still evaluating Allen's injury and he didn't have any more details on it. Allen did not speak to the media.

Allen was injured when Houston's Whitney Mercilus hit his right elbow with his helmet after Allen's pass. McDermott was angry about the hit and complained to officials that it was late.

"We talk about protecting the quarterback and I thought it was late, but at the end of the day, the officials rule over the game, and obviously, they didn't," he said.

Allen threw for 84 yards and ran for 20 before being replaced by Nathan Peterman. Peterman threw for 61 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, including one that was returned 28 yards by Johnathan Joseph for a touchdown that put the Texans on top with 1:23 remaining. Joseph stepped in front of Kelvin Benjamin to grab that interception.

"They were bringing pressure and really just made a bad decision," Peterman said. "It's something I'm going to learn from. Critical time, there are just so many lessons out there to learn from."

His second one came after that to seal Houston's win.

The Bills took their first lead of the game when Peterman found Zay Jones in the corner of the end zone on a 16-yard pass that made it 13-10 early in the fourth quarter. McDermott saw some good things from Peterman but was disappointed with his turnovers.

"At the end of the game ... he was probably trying to do too much," McDermott said. "I don't want to paint it all bad, but we've got to protect the football and make sure we're smart."

The Bills signed the 35-year-old Derek Anderson on Tuesday with plans to have him mentor Allen. In the wake of Allen's injury, McDermott was asked if his role could change.

"We'll see," McDermott said. "Derek just came this week. We're going to look at the film and see where we are."

Along with Allen's injury, the Bills were dealing with questions about receiver Kelvin Benjamin's work ethic after a television reporter tweeted an exchange she said she overheard during pregame warmups. The reporter tweeted that Benjamin said no when Allen asked him if he wanted to work on routes.

McDermott said he had just heard about it after the game and that he'd look into it.

Benjamin refuted the details of the story.

"It wasn't a question like: 'Do you want to run routes?' and I declined," he said. "That's just somebody trying to take something and run with it and try to get their name out there. Pregame is the players' choice to get ready for their game."

Benjamin, who finished with two receptions for 43 yards, said he didn't realize there was a problem until after the game and that he's focused on trying to help the team.

"I only control what I can control and that's coming into work every day, busting my (expletive) and doing what I can do for this team to win," he said.

__

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL