American Football Database
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Joe Dufek
No. 19     
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1961-08-23) August 23, 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Career information
College: Yale
Undrafted in 1983
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
* Buffalo Bills ( 1983 1985)
Career highlights and awards
  • N/A
TD-INT     4–8
Yards     829
QB Rating     52.9
Stats at NFL.com

Joseph Edward Dufek (born August 23, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1983. He played college football at Yale.

Career[]

Dufek was signed as, more or less, an afterthought when Jim Kelly, the quarterback the Bills had drafted in the first round of the 1983 draft, opted to not sign with the Bills and jumped to the United States Football League. By the 1984 season, Dufek had risen to the second-string quarterback position, behind an aging and fading Joe Ferguson. Ferguson's performance continued to deteriorate, and on September 30, after 107 consecutive games started, Ferguson was benched, and Dufek received his first game as starter. Dufek and Ferguson combined for a 2–14 record in 1984; Ferguson was released at the end of the season, while Dufek made it through part of 1985 (not starting any games that season) before being cut.

Dufek finished the 1985 season and his professional career with the San Diego Chargers. With the USFL folding as a result of a failed antitrust lawsuit, Dufek was one of the casualties of the tighter job market for professional football players, never playing professional football again and declining to cross picket lines in the 1987 strike.

Family[]

He is a younger brother of Don Dufek, Jr., who was a captain of the Seattle Seahawks, Bill Dufek who was an All-American at Michigan and a son of Don Dufek, Sr., who was the most valuable player in the 1951 Rose Bowl. He is the father of Mike, an All-Big Ten Conference athlete, who played his senior season for Michigan Wolverines baseball in 2010.[1]

Notes[]

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