Age: 25
3rd
season in pro football & with Bills
College: Arkansas
Height: 6’1” Weight: 184
Prelude:
Ferguson
passed for 4431 yards and 24 touchdowns in college and was chosen by the Bills
in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft. He beat out veteran Dennis Shaw and started
every game as a rookie, rarely throwing in a conservative offense that was
geared around the running of record-setting HB O.J. Simpson. Ferguson went to
the air only 164 times, completing 44.5 percent for 939 yards and four
touchdowns against 10 interceptions. The team went 9-5 and did so again in ’74
as Ferguson showed much improvement, passing for 1588 yards and 12 touchdowns
with as many interceptions.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 321
[12]
Most
attempts, game – 41 at Miami 12/7
Completions –
169 [10]
Most
completions, game – 20 vs. Miami 10/26, at Miami 12/7
Yards – 2426
[7]
Most yards,
game – 296 at NY Jets 11/2
Completion
percentage – 52.6 [16]
Yards per
attempt – 7.6 [6]
TD passes – 25
[1, tied with Fran Tarkenton]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 vs. New England 11/23
Interceptions
– 17 [8]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 vs. Minnesota 12/20
Passer rating
– 81.3 [7]
200-yard
passing games – 6
Rushing
Attempts – 23
Most
attempts, game – 3 (for 6 yds.) vs. Denver 10/5, (for 5 yds.) vs. Miami 10/26
Yards – 82
Most yards,
game – 19 yards (on 2 carries) at St. Louis 11/27
Average gain
– 3.6
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points – 6
Bills went 8-6
to finish third in the AFC East while leading the NFL in rushing yards (2974),
total yards (5467), touchdowns (57), and scoring (420 points).
Aftermath:
Ferguson
missed half of the 1976 season due to injury but returned to pass for a
league-leading 2803 yards in ’77, although also topping the NFL with 24
interceptions with a 3-11 team. He went on to display impressive durability
thereafter despite a smallish build and didn’t miss another game until 1984,
his last year with Buffalo. Ferguson guided the offense during playoff seasons
in 1980 and ’81, completing 57.2 percent of his passes for 2805 yards and 20
TDs in ’80 and a career-high 3652 yards with 24 touchdowns in 1981. With the
team in the doldrums, he was traded to Detroit following the ’84 season and
ended his career with stints as a backup with the Lions, Buccaneers, and Colts.
Overall, Ferguson threw for 29,817 yards and 196 touchdowns, and held many
Buffalo career passing records at the time of his departure (and which to date still
rank second only to Jim Kelly), including completions (2188), yards (27,590),
and TD passes (181).
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
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