Tag: Jake Ferguson

A former Wisconsin TE has scored a touchdown in three-straight NFL games

Don’t let Jake Ferguson get hot! The former Wisconsin Badger found the end zone yet again for the Dallas Cowboys, his fourth of the 2023 NFL

Don’t let Jake Ferguson get hot!

The former Wisconsin Badger found the end zone yet again for the Dallas Cowboys, his fourth of the 2023 NFL season and third in as many weeks.

Ferguson is up to 36 catches, 354 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He’s emerged as the Cowboys’ top option at tight end, and one of QB Dak Prescott’s top overall targets.

The second-year pro has come a long way from his days at Wisconsin. His four-year college career saw averages of 36.25 catches, 404.5 yards and 3.25 touchdowns. He’ll surpass all of those numbers in his first full season as the Cowboys’ starting tight end.

Look: Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson scores TD in 3rd-straight game

The Cowboys TE keeps making big plays, increasing his profile as Dak Prescott’s security blanket.

The Cowboys are taking what some may consider their own sweet time in putting a bowtie on the Giants, but the methodical approach is working. Dallas whiffed on their opening possession, driving the length of the field but failing to score on four opportunities from goal-to-go. They then went three and out but soon righted the ship.

A touchdown by CeeDee Lamb was followed by an interception off the arm of Dak Prescott, but the defense held the Giants on four plays from the 12-yard line. The offense went back to work and soon TE Jake Ferguson was getting his chance.

Dallas drove 96 yards down the field on the scoring drive, with the final play a one-yard touchdown pass on second down to Ferguson in the back of the end zone.

It’s the second-year tight end’s third-straight game with a score and his fourth on the young season. He’s become a true weapon for teh Dallas offense.

Parent Trap: Here’s how Cowboys continue to son Giants on Sundays

A closer look at the Cowboys’ paths to both victory and defeat in the rematch against the struggling Giants. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys returned home from a loss probably not feeling nearly as bad as their previous failed road trips. They went into Lincoln Financial Field and played nearly equal to the Philadelphia Eagles, the best team in the NFC. Dak Prescott was a wizard, running away from the Philadelphia pass rush and throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. The defense held the two MVP candidates, Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown, to just average games overall.

That being said, the team still lost, and they have now put themselves two games behind the Eagles over halfway through the season. On paper, they have a chance to make up ground before the Week 14 rematch. It all starts with them doing their jobs.

The team needs to bounce back and beat the New York Giants to start a long winning streak, and beating the Giants is something Prescott has become exceedingly efficient at. The Cowboys QB has won his last 11 games against the Gotham Knights by an average score of 31.5 to 16. Dallas will need to accomplish some goals to get past the Giants though, it is the NFL, and it is an “any given Sunday” league if a team doesn’t stay focused.

Jake Ferguson paying off big for Cowboys offense

Jake Ferguson has surprised even the Cowboys by catapulting into the top tier of NFL tight ends in just his second year in the NFL, says @ReidDHanson.

When the Cowboys decided to move on from Dalton Schultz and make second year player Jake Ferguson the de facto TE1, they were taking a gamble. For years Schultz has admirably held down the top tight end role in Dallas. He wasn’t flashy but he was well-rounded and fairly reliable.

Ferguson flashed all the same qualities. Like Schultz, Ferguson came into the league with a blocking background. Like Schultz, he also flashed enough pass catching potential to make the Cowboys believe they had something worth developing.

Nearly halfway into the season, it appears the move has paid off handsomely for Dallas.

While many in and around the team stated their confidence in Ferguson over the offseason, based on their actions in the draft, the Cowboys weren’t sold on him being the real answer at TE1. If they were, they likely wouldn’t have felt compelled to draft a TE with their second pick in the 2023 draft.

They looked at the situation for what it was: Ferguson was an inexperienced player with potential, but without pedigree or skins on the wall. He was fourth-round pick from Iowa with less than 20 NFL catches on his resume. He was a gamble.

It compelled Dallas to prioritize the TE position and arguably overdraft based on positional need. 58 picks into the draft, they pulled the trigger on Luke Schoonmaker, a 25-year blocking specialist from Michigan.

Not only has Ferguson fought off the competition and firmly held the top spot on the team, but he’s making a name for himself league-wide and claiming a top spot nationally.

Ferguson’s blocking has been a revelation for the Cowboys. They haven’t had a TE1 blocking this well in Dallas since the days Jason Witten still had hair. Filtering for those with over 300 snaps, Ferguson’s run blocking ranks fifth in the NFL this season. His pass blocking comes in at second in the NFL.

But it’s his receiving ability that’s really surprising people. In the age of specialist TEs, Ferguson is proving to be that true all-around prospect the Cowboys are famous for fielding. Using the same 300 snap threshold, Ferguson is ninth in the league as a pass catcher, posting an overall grade that ranks fourth in the NFL.

His performance against the Eagles in Week 9 served as a national coming out party with him posting seven receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. But it’s a progression those close to the team have seen coming for a while.

With four drops in just eight games, Ferguson hasn’t been flawless.  But he’s catching 74.4% of his targets and Dallas QBs are still posting a 119.1 passer rating when targeting him. Most importantly, the entire offense elevates when Ferguson is on the field.

Per Next Gen Stats, the Cowboys offense sees a four-yard bump in yards/attempt, a 16.4% bump in success rate and a 16.0% boost in completion percentage when Ferguson is on the field. It’s a testament to his impact and a sign Ferguson is outperforming even the wildest expectations heading into the 2023 season.

Given the struggles of Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks downfield, Ferguson has been an integral part of the Cowboys passing offense this season and has made an argument as the No. 2 option for Dak Prescott.

With Ferguson still ascending, the sky is the limit for this former Day 3 draft pick.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Studs and duds in Cowboys’ crushing 28-23 loss in Week 9

The offense had a bunch of positives, but in the end several factors contributed to the club coming up short. | From @BenGrimaldi

It was all there for the taking for the Dallas Cowboys, a big road win against divisional opponent with quarterback Dak Prescott leading the way. In the end it wasn’t meant to be as the Cowboys fell in a crushing 28-23 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9.

Prescott once again answered questions about if he could play well in a big game, and he brought with him some of his receiving options, who helped the offense get the team in position to win the game. The big statistical performances weren’t enough to carry the Cowboys, who made mistakes in critical moments. In a game of inches, Dallas fell just short too many times to walk away with the win. Here are the studs and duds for the Cowboys in a tough Week 9 loss.

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 9

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 9

Week 9 of the NFL season is in the books as many teams officially surpass the midway point of their seasons.

For Wisconsin Badgers in the NFL, it was a week in the spotlight.

First, former Badger RB Dare Ogunbowale was thrust into emergency kicking duties in Houston. He ended up booting kicks for touchbacks and connecting on his only field goal attempt (29 yards).

Then, former Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson gave the Eagles defense fits in America’s Game Of The Week.

Overall it was a productive week for Wisconsin products. Here is how every one of them performed in NFL Week 9:

Cowboys respond, match Eagles TD with Prescott-to-Ferguson connection

Dak Prescott used his legs and then connected on big plays through the air for the tying score.

The Dallas Cowboys decided to test the Philadelphia Eagles’ run defense on their opening drive, and they found themselves in 3rd-and-long. An incompletion sent the ball over to Philly. A bad spot on a Jalen Hurts run brought up 4th-and-short, and the Tush Push brought about a new set of downs.

Another fourth-down conversion eventually led to a Kenneth Gainwell TD and an early Eagles’ lead, but the Cowboys were able to respond. It took a while and multiple Dak Prescott scrambles on drop backs, but Dallas got to their own fourth-down attempt where Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for the conversion.

One play later, Prescott found tight end Jake Ferguson for this second touchdown in two weeks.

The game is tied at seven early in the second quarter.

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 8

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 8

We’re almost at the halfway point of the 2023 NFL season already, or the midpoint of the regular season at least.

The year has always seen former Wisconsin Badgers hold national relevance. Steelers OLB T.J. Watt is playing like an All-pro yet again, Broncos QB Russell Wilson is improving on last year’s disaster, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is back on the field, Bears ILB T.J. Edwards might finish with 200 total tackles and more.

While the team in Madison is a disappointing 5-3 so far this season, many of the program’s now-NFL players are playing quite well.

For updates on all the players listed above, as well as every other Wisconsin product, here is how every former Badger performed in NFL Week 8:

WATCH: Former Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson scores acrobatic touchdown

WATCH: Former Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson scores acrobatic touchdown

Former Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson has been thrust into the starter’s role after joining the team as a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. First, Ferguson backed up starter Dalton Schultz. Now with Schultz in Houston, the former Badger has emerged as the team’s top target at the position.

The Madison, Wisconsin native finished his college career with four equally strong seasons of 456, 407, 305 and 450 yards respectively. The total was 145 catches, 1618 yards and 13 touchdowns, that production coming from Alex Hornibrook, Jack Coan and Graham Mertz as his primary quarterbacks.

Well, Ferguson’s rapport with Cowboys QB Dak Prescott appears to be blossoming. The former Badger scored on Sunday to give Dallas a lead it would not relinquish:

Ferguson is up to 25 catches, 237 yards and two touchdowns on the season as he looks to continue to make a mark early in his NFL career.

Watch: Cowboys’ Prescott threads needle, TE actually catches the TD

The Cowboys started off shaky, but steadied themselves and took the early lead on the Rams. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys started the game off with the ball, and things were ugly. The rust was clearly in play for the offensive line, who lost left tackle Tyron Smith on Thursday to a neck stinger. On their first three dropbacks, Prescott was sacked three times, only one on third down was negated by an illegal contact penalty.

Dallas took full advantage of the extra chance, getting things together and marching down the field thanks to a renewed commitment to getting the ball to WR CeeDee Lamb. Lamb caught three passes on the drive, but the scoring play came courtesy of the tight end position.

From just inside the red zone, you read that right, Prescott floated a beautiful pass down the seam, over the defense into the outstretched arm of second-year tight end Jake Ferguson for the 18-yard score.