Joe Ferguson

Last updated

Joe Ferguson
No. 12
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1950-04-23) April 23, 1950 (age 74)
Alvin, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Woodlawn (Shreveport, Louisiana)
College: Arkansas
NFL draft: 1973  / Round: 3 / Pick: 57
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:4,519
Passing completions:2,369
Completion percentage:52.4%
TD–INT:196–209
Passing yards:29,817
Passer rating:68.4
Player stats at PFR

Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Bills in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft.

Contents

Early life

Ferguson played high school football in Shreveport, Louisiana, for Woodlawn High School. He guided the Knights to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class AAA (the top classification at the time) state championship in 1968. Ferguson succeeded Terry Bradshaw as Woodlawn's starting quarterback.

Ferguson played college football at the University of Arkansas, where he held the school's single game record for most completions until broken in 2012 (31 against Texas A&M in 1971).

Professional career

The Buffalo Bills selected Ferguson in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft. [1] Although he is most famous for playing with the Bills from 1973 to 1984, Ferguson also played three seasons for the Detroit Lions, two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and one final season with the Indianapolis Colts. Ferguson's number 12 with the Bills is now retired for his successor with the team, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.

Ferguson placed in the top 10 in pass attempts five times, completions and passing yards four times, passing touchdowns six times, and yards per pass three times. At one time he shared, with Ron Jaworski, the NFL record for consecutive starts by a quarterback with 107, until he was replaced by Joe Dufek on September 30, 1984. He has a 1–3 record in the NFL postseason, winning against the New York Jets in 1981. His three losses came from the Cincinnati Bengals in those same 1981 playoffs, the San Diego Chargers the year before in 1980 (a game in which he played the entire contest with a sprained ankle), and in 1974 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He retired after the 1990 season after playing only one game with the Colts.

In 1995, Ferguson briefly came out of retirement to serve as a backup quarterback for the San Antonio Texans of the Canadian Football League's South Division. Kay Stephenson, who had coached Ferguson in his last year in Buffalo, was coach of San Antonio at the time and needed an inexpensive backup who knew Stephenson's system after starter David Archer was injured midseason. [2]

In 1975 Ferguson tied Fran Tarkenton for the NFL lead with 25 touchdown passes and compiled a passer rating of 81.3. Ferguson also surpassed 20 touchdown passes in three other seasons: 1980, 1981, 1983. He finished his career with 196 touchdowns thrown and 209 interceptions.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Led the league
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesPassingSacksDrives
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsTDTD%IntInt%LngY/AY/GRtgSckSckYSck%4QCGWD
1973 BUF 14149−57316444.593942.4106.1425.767.145.82016410.921
1974 BUF 14149−511923251.31,588125.2125.2556.8113.469.03223512.133
1975 BUF 14148−616932152.62,426257.8177.6777.6173.381.3201535.913
1976 BUF 772−57415149.01,08696.010.7587.2155.190.011806.811
1977 BUF 14143−1122145748.42,803122.6245.3426.1200.254.2362737.311
1978 BUF 16165−1117533053.02,136164.8154.5926.5133.570.5292438.111
1979 BUF 16167−923845852.03,572143.1153.3847.8223.374.4433878.623
1980 BUF 161611−525143957.22,805204.6184.1696.4175.374.5131292.924
1981 BUF 161610−625249850.63,652244.8204.0677.3228.374.1151372.922
1982 BUF 994−514426454.51,59772.7166.1476.0177.456.3111054.011
1983 BUF 16168−828150855.32,995265.1254.9435.9187.269.3272665.033
1984 BUF 12111−1019134455.51,991123.5174.9685.8165.963.5353579.2——
1985 DET 810−1315457.436423.735.6386.745.567.24356.9——
1986 DET 642−27315547.194174.574.5736.1156.862.9101016.111
1988 TB 210−1314667.436836.512.2348.0184.0104.3182.1——
1989 TB 520−2449048.953333.366.7695.9106.650.85375.3——
1990 IND 100−02825.02100.0225.0132.621.00.0000.0——
Career [3] 18617179−922,3694,51952.429,8171964.32094.6926.6160.368.43122,7106.52024

Buffalo Bills franchise records

Source: [4] [5]

Personal life

In May 2005, Ferguson was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma cancer and underwent treatment at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In January 2008, Ferguson was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. In February 2008, he was treated at M.D. Anderson in the intensive care unit for pneumonia. In July 2009, it was reported that Ferguson had recovered from his battles with cancer. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Unitas</span> American football player (1933–2002)

John Constantine Unitas was an American football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Kelly</span> American football player (born 1960)

James Edward Kelly is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning offensive MVP honors in the 1981 Peach Bowl.

Daryle Pasquale Lamonica was an American professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Lamonica was drafted by the NFL Green Bay Packers in round 12 with the 168th overall pick. He spent his first four seasons mostly as a backup for the Buffalo Bills, who selected him in the 24th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. Lamonica played his next eight seasons as the primary starter of the Raiders, including after they joined the NFL through the AFL–NFL merger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Kitna</span> American football player and coach (born 1972)

Jon Kelly Kitna is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Central Washington Wildcats and was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He is currently the head football coach at Lakota East High School in Ohio.

Bryan Kelly Holcomb is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Holcomb was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent after the 1995 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Fitzpatrick</span> American football player (born 1982)

Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the most in league history. He is also the only NFL player to have a passing touchdown with eight different teams.

Robert Garland Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was a fourth-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the expansion team Jacksonville Jaguars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinn Gray</span> American football player (born 1979)

Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Albany State University in Albany, Georgia, a position he has held since 2023. Gray played professionally as a quarterback four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season each in the United Football League (UFL) and NFL Europe. He played college football at Florida A&M University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Shaw</span> American football player (born 1947)

Dennis Wendell Shaw is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrod Taylor</span> American football player (born 1989)

Tyrod Diallo Taylor is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thad Lewis</span> American football player and coach (born 1987)

Thaddeus Cowan Lewis is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Flacco</span> American football player (born 1985)

Joseph Vincent Flacco is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. Flacco has also been a member of the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.

The 1973 Buffalo Bills season was the 14th season for the team and their 4th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Bills finished in 2nd place in the AFC East division and finished the 1973 NFL season with a record of 9 wins and 5 losses, the team's first winning record since 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Tannehill</span> American football player (born 1988)

Ryan Timothy Tannehill III is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 2012 NFL draft.

The 1977 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season, and their eighth in the National Football League. The team posted a losing record for the second-consecutive season, and missed the postseason for the third season.

Daniel Meyer Darragh is a former American football player. He played college football at William & Mary. A quarterback, he played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills from 1968 through 1969, and for the NFL Bills in 1970. He shared the starting job with Ed Rutkowski, Kay Stephenson and Tom Flores in 1968 while long-time starter and former AFL MVP Jack Kemp was out with an injury. He is now a practicing attorney in Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Webb</span> American football player (born 1986)

Joseph Webb III is a former American football quarterback. He also played as a wide receiver, kick returner and special teamer. After playing college football for the UAB Blazers, Webb was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft as a quarterback. He also played for the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and New York Giants. Webb holds the NFL record for most tackles by a quarterback with 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. J. Yates</span> American football player and coach (born 1987)

Taylor Jonathan Yates is an American football coach and former player who is the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally as a quarterback in the NFL. After playing college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Yates was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Allen</span> American football player (born 1996)

Joshua Patrick Allen is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys and was selected seventh overall by the Bills in the 2018 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Stroud</span> American football player (born 2001)

Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he holds several school records, including most passing yards in a single game with 573, as well as being the first player to throw for six touchdowns three times. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022 and was selected by the Texans second overall in the 2023 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he led the Texans to a division title and playoff victory en route to winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

References

  1. ↑ "Football Notebook". St. Petersburg Times . July 27, 1973. pp. 3–C. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: FOOTBALL; Ferguson, 45, Signs C.F.L. Deal". The New York Times. August 3, 1995. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Joe Ferguson Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Career Passing Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Buffalo Bills Single-Season Passing Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Joe Ferguson talks Cancer, Jim Kelly". Buffalobills.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.