“I think it started to be more of urgency,” Ferguson said. “If we mess something up in practice, or even a walkthrough, just going back and being like OK, ‘What were we thinking on that? What were you thinking? What was I thinking? Let’s get on some mutual ground here and figure out [will] we see that again?’ Maybe when it is full speed in practice, wherever it may be, let’s get it cleaned up so when it does come to game time there’s no questions.”
Everything changed for Ferguson after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a game he described that he played “soft” in. Ferguson had five catches for 48 yards with a dropped pass.
“After the game I texted him, ‘I’m with you big dawg let’s get after it,’” Ferguson said.
In the next five weeks, Ferguson got after it. He’s been targeted 25 times with 22 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns. In four of the five games, he’s caught every pass targeted toward him. Of the 22 receptions, 14 converted into first downs.
According to NextGen Stats, the Cowboys average fewer than 4.0 yards per attempt when Ferguson is off the field. In last week’s loss at the Eagles, Ferguson set career-highs in targets (8), receptions (6) and yards (84) when lined up in the slot.
After a loss to the 49ers, Lamb had a few discussions with Prescott himself, and since then he’s produced at least a 100-yard game the last three weeks. In the loss to the Eagles last week, Lamb set a career-high with 191 receiving yards.
Prescott’s two main playmakers over the last five weeks have been Ferguson and Lamb.
“Again, I think he’s just scratching the surface,” Schottenheimer said. “I think there’s a me-to-you that Dak and he have developed like CeeDee and Dak have. It’s really cool to see.”