Monday night’s 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles showed the Dallas Cowboys are starting to hit their stride on offense — and they’re doing it without $50 million Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson.
Ferguson didn’t start for a second straight game as Brevyn Spann-Ford got his second straight start. He caught no passes on just one target, and he drew pass interference on NFL All-Pro slot cornerback Cooper DeJean.
It was the first game this season Ferguson went without a catch and seems to signal the offense moving away from him entirely — and for good reason.
“If you’re seeing this right now just know you had the same amount of receptions as Jake Ferguson today,” Cowboys fan Young Chuy wrote on his official X account.
Ferguson is one of the NFL’s highest-paid tight ends, so his absence is notable — and not for no good reason.
Breaking Down How Ferguson Became Unplayable
Pulse of the Star’s Zach Schmidt broke down — pretty astutely — why the offense has moved on from Ferguson.
“We all know that Jake Ferguson has a ball-handling issue,” Schmidt wrote on his official X account on October 10. “But just how drastic is the rate at which he fumbles and drops the ball? Since 2024 Ferguson has 7 recorded drops, as well as his league leading 8 fumbles for tight ends. Similarly, players such as Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall and James Cook all have around the same numbers. The difference? These others are running backs with hundreds of touches both through the air and on the ground. Ferguson averages 4-5 touches per game in that same timeframe. Fumbles to touches rate per player include- -Robinson: 1 fumble per 118 touches -Henry: 1 fumble per 108 touches -Hall: 1 fumble per 75 touches -Cook III: 1 fumble per 73 touches Jake Ferguson, on the other hand, as a pass catcher only is averaging 1 fumble per 19 touches…. That is a GROTESQUE 42% rate. As well as a similar 45% dropped pass rate. These numbers are that of practice squad players getting their first game action.”
Jake Ferguson’s Fumbling Issues: Nothing New
ESPN’s annual list of the NFL’s Top 10 tight ends left Ferguson on the outside looking in, as voted on by the league’s executives, coaches, and scouts, and sent a clear message on how the rest of the league views the former Pro Bowler, who was placed among the honorable mentions.
“He’s really solid all around, high catch volume, tough, competes in the run game,” an anonymous NFL executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “His problem is fumbling. We targeted trying to get the ball loose when we played him.”
While that’s harsh, it’s also true. Few players in the NFL cough the ball up like Ferguson has in recent years — 7 fumbles in the last 2 seasons after zero fumbles in his 1st 2 seasons.
“Jake Ferguson is officially a liability when it comes to fumbling,” Bloggin’ the Boys Brandon Loree wrote on his official X account toward the end of the 2025 regular season. “Doing it way too often.”
Dallas Cowboys Phasing $50 Million ‘Liability’ Out of Offense