Tag: Jake Ferguson

Here’s how Cowboys can beat the Eagles: Avoiding laundry, stressing seams

Dallas will need to play with discipline and take advantage of the Eagles’ secondary in order to pull out a victory, says @cdpiglet.

The Dallas Cowboys extended their home undefeated streak to 14 straight games Thursday night, but it was unlike any game at AT&T Stadium thus far in the 2023 season. The Cowboys weren’t sitting their starters with a significant lead in the fourth quarter. Instead, they needed nearly every second to put away the Seattle Seahawks 41-35. The offense showed up like they have every game since their bye week. Dak Prescott continued to play like an MVP candidate, and CeeDee Lamb kept up his dominant performances in 2023.

The defense was a surprising letdown,  but they came up with big stops late to help seal the victory for Dallas.  That was enough against Seattle, but if the Cowboys want to beat the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles, the offense must continue to carry a considerable burden, and the defense will also need to play much better. Here are some things the team must do to beat Philadelphia and take over the lead in the NFC East.

Jamal Adams doubles down on denigrating comment about reporter’s wife

Jamal Adams had the chance to back off the denigrating comment he made about a reporter’s wife. Instead, he doubled down with malice aforethought.

Seahawks safety Jamal Adams can be a dynamic player if he’s used as a forward-motion guy only, because his coverage skills are … well … iffy. Seattle might regret trading two first-round picks and giving a four-year, $70 million contract with $38 million guaranteed to a 220-pound box ‘backer, but that’s a separate issue. In any event, Adams had his worst game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13, allowing four catches on five targets for 48 yards, 10 yards after the catch, a touchdown and an opponent passer rating of 146.3.

The touchdown Adams allowed to tight end Jake Ferguson with 4:37 left in a game the Cowboys won 41-35 started things off.

Adams got greased on the crosser, Ferguson boxed him out, and that was that.

Connor Hughes, a reporter for SNY TV, posted a tweet with the play in question and a one-word review: “Yikes.”

Adams’ response was to post a picture of Hughes and his wife, obviously belittling Hughes’ wife.

Today, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll tried to defuse the situation, saying that he had spoken to Adams about it and that “we don’t want to be a part of that.”

But when Adams was asked about it at his locker room by reporters, he certainly wanted to be a part of that.

“It’s always the athlete that crossed the line when he responds,” Adams said, via Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune. “But at the end of the day, disrespect is disrespect, however you want to take it. So, I responded. I knew when I did hit that tweet, I wasn’t in it to win it. At the end of the day it was to get him to understand, ‘Leave me the hell alone.’”

“When others go low, I go lower.”

Adams was then asked if he had any regrets about what he did, which opened up another can.

I mean, you can sit there and have regret. But I don’t live that way in my life. … We’ve had history, Connor and I. …We’ve have never liked each other.

Obviously, hey, he responded to something that was uncalled for that he didn’t need to speak on. And, honestly, I’ve been letting him slide for too long and I just got fed up with it. I did what I did. I hate that I had to bring her into the situation, but at the end of the day the ultimate goal was to get at him.

I’m not here to say if it was fair or not. But at the same time, at the end of the day, it’s been personal with him and I ever since I’ve been with the Jets and even before that, since my rookie year. Like I said, it’s been going on for countless years. He’s always said some smart things toward my play, if I do make a mistake. And I just got fed up with it, bro. This was the end of it.

And I knew, this only thing right here, I was going to tweet was going to hurt him. Anything else I said wouldn’t have hurt him. But he got my point. And he knows not to continue to mess with me. Again, didn’t want to bring her in. But I just so happened I scrolled down and I seen what I seen, and I responded back with the same comment he made.

“At the end of the day, I knew that was something that he loved,” Adams concluded. “And this is something that I love, playing this game. I was fed up with the (stuff). So I gave him something back that, I guarantee he won’t respond back to anything else, going forward. And that was my whole point.”

So, Adams went out of his way to denigrate the wife of a reporter with malice aforethought, and he has no regrets. Good to know.

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 13 2023

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 13 2023

The calendar has turned to December, and it’s time for the final stretch of the 2023 NFL season. In other words: it’s officially the time of year each television network shows the ‘In The Hunt’ graphic during its broadcasts.

Former Wisconsin Badgers are in the middle of both the NFC and AFC playoff races. Russell Wilson has the Broncos in the hunt for a wild card, Jake Ferguson is dominating for the 9-3 Dallas Cowboys, a handful of former Badgers are willing the Steelers into playoff position and more.

Minus Colts star Jonathan Taylor being out with an injury, and Jack Sanborn and T.J. Edwards’ Chicago Bears having a bye week, here is how every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 13:

Jake Ferguson’s adding extremely important elements to Cowboys’ identity

The Cowboys are loaded with playmakers and star power, but Jake Ferguson adds a layer of grit and crazy the Dallas offense sorely needs. | From @ReidDHanson

For the better part of the 2023 season, Jake Ferguson has been the No. 2 option in Dallas. He trails only CeeDee Lamb in targets and receptions and with five games yet to play, he’s already nearly tripled his output from 2022.

Even though he’s been a key cog in the Cowboys machine throughout the year, it took a big day on the Thursday Night Football stage to truly elevate him into the hearts and minds of the nation. Tony Gonzalez, a former NFL tight end and current TNF analyst, gushed over his six reception, 77-yard and one-touchdown performance, prompting many to call this Ferguson’s “coming out party.”

Those close to the team know better. The former fourth-rounder from Wisconsin has been that guy in Dallas all season long. And it didn’t take a couple flashy plays in primetime football to make it official.

As a blocker, Ferguson has quietly established himself in the NFL’s top tier. Of those with at least 300 snaps, Ferguson ranks sixth in run blocking and fifth in pass protection. With the same snap minimum, Pro Football Focus grades him seventh overall this season, making him the second-youngest TE in their top-10.

But while the pure blocking and receiving numbers are great, it’s the intangibles that seem to set him apart.

“He’s a baller,” Dak Prescott said. “His mentality is why he is the guy that he is. He expects to do what he did in tonight’s game and he’s no different than me.”

It wasn’t just what Ferguson did on Thursday, but how and to whom he did it. Jawing with All-Pro Jamal Adams early, Ferguson essentially went after the biggest bully in the yard. It was a beef only made beefier when Ferguson pulled in the go-ahead touchdown in the face of Adams in the endzone.

“He’s got a lot of swag, a little bit of craziness,” described Prescott. “You want a guy who can definitely get dirty but have some swag, be able to catch some passes, go get more, finish runs. He’s talented. A young guy – a bright, bright future ahead of him.”

While the swag is nice, it’s the grit that accompanies the swag that sets him apart from other playmakers on the team. Ferguson’s “tough guy” demeanor is the grit the Cowboys offense needs. It’s not only inspiring to others, but it’s arguably what’s been lacking in recent postseason campaigns.

San Francisco, the unofficial boogeyman of the Cowboys, has out gritted Dallas in consecutive postseasons. The Cowboys offense has repeatedly bogged down against ultra-physical teams like the 49ers and need players like Ferguson to not only step up in the playmaker department but also as a team leader and inspirational tough guy.

If something woke up on Thursday night against Seattle, it wasn’t Ferguson the playmaker, it was Ferguson the tough guy. It’s a personality trait the Cowboys have been missing in many ways, and something that could pay major dividends in the postseason.

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How Dak Prescott and the Cowboys built the NFL’s best passing game

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have the NFL’s most dynamic passing game since their Week 7 bye. Here’s how it happened.

Before the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 7 bye, Dak Prescott had completed 132 of 190 passes for 1,333 yards, six touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.0.

Since the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 7 bye, Dak Prescott has completed 127 of 180 passes for 1,602 yards, 17 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.8. Prescott’s completion rate has risen from 69.5% to 70.6%, and that’s especially impressive because he’s been throwing completing so many deep balls of late — before the bye, he attempted 19 passes of 20 or more air yards, completing eight for 194 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 92.9. Since the bye, Prescott has completed 20 of his 33 deep throws for 565 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 144.3. When you’re just about perfect on the game’s toughest throws, you are indeed playing with house money.

So, what’s changed for America’s Team in the last few weeks? Why have the Cowboys gone from a 4-2 team led by their defense before the bye, and 100% Dak since?

After a 45-10 Thanksgiving Day win over the Washington Commanders in which Prescott completed 22 of 32 passes for 331 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 142.1 (and got Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio fired along the way), head coach Mike McCarthy talked about why it’s working so well on that side of the ball.

“We’re rolling through our menus. We’re not a ‘create the wheel’ system approach. I don’t believe in that. I mean, we don’t chase new ideas and concepts. If there’s a wrinkle that we feel helps us, it’s a variation of what we’ve already done. We have so many invested reps in the spring and training camp and that’s the foundation of who we are. Because it takes time to get the timing and efficiency where you want it each and every year and the fact of the matter is you have less time together. That’s why I give all these NFL players in today’s game an incredible amount of respect for what they do away from the building and that five weeks off a summer. That’s a critical time now in development of an offensive passing game. Which you were able to get that done in the past in the spring and training camp.

“There’s a lot that goes on and I just think that those types of adjustments and I think we looked like a first year offense a little bit the first four weeks. But we played the way we needed to play to win and won some games decisively too. We played to our defense, and it served us well. We want to complement each other. When they give us an opportunity, we need to go put it in the endzone. We need to get out in front, when we’re out in front our pass rush is lethal.”

Well, now the passing game is just as lethal, if not more so.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys went deep on all the improvements.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s dive into the tape to see why and how it’s all happened.

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 10 2023

How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 10 2023

Week 10 of the 2023 NFL season concluded last night as the Russell Wilson-led Denver Broncos stole a win in Buffalo against the Bills.

A twofold takeaway from that game: the Bills are in trouble, and Wilson and the Broncos are playing much better than last season.

Wilson was not the only former Wisconsin Badger at the center of the action this weekend. Jonathan Taylor and Jake Ferguson both found the end zone again, T.J. Watt set another record and T.J. Edwards is on pace for two million tackles.

Here are stats from those performances, and from every former Wisconsin Badger in NFL Week 10:

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.

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