Cowboys' Jake Ferguson puts foot down about overturned TD; explains turkey grab

Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson had a huge moment in the team's Week 13 win and quickly had it taken away after replay review.

And then in honor of Thanksgiving and in full view of a record-setting television audience, he improvised the biggest moment of the day, just moments after the game went final.

The fourth-year veteran had one of the most impressive catches of the NFL season late in the third quarter, hauling in a 13-yard pass at the back of the end zone amid double-coverage from Chiefs defenders. The grab appeared to have extended Dallas's lead, and Ferguson jumped into the Salvation Army red kettle for a new touchdown celebration, just like he had promised a day prior.

After a replay review, though, officials waved off the score, determining that he did not get both feet in-bounds. Never mind that the 6-foot-5-inch tight end actually tapped his left foot to the turf twice as his right foot got tangled up in the legs of cornerback Nick Bolton and safety Jaden Hicks.

The rulebook says one foot twice is not the same as two feet, however, a point Ferguson explained this week that he has legitimate issue with.

"If I catch a ball on our own 99-yard line, and I hop on my left foot all the way down and score, that isn't a touchdown?" he asked GBag Nation on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "You know what I mean?"

The Cowboys ended up scoring a field goal on the drive, but Ferguson's negated touchdown catch might have made the fourth quarter less of a nail-biter. The Cowboys did eventually win the game by a 31-28 final.

It was the only one of Ferguson's six targets on the day that didn't go in the books as a catch. He's currently 10th in the league with 70 receptions and tied for fifth place in receiving touchdowns, with seven. His 84.3% catch percentage is good for 16th place overall and stands fifth among all the NFL's non-backfield players.

With numbers like that, the 26-year-old could be in line for his second Pro Bowl nod, and if Dallas is able to complete this season's dramatic turnaround and secure a playoff berth, his play will have been a huge contributing factor.

But in the Cowboys' victory celebration on Thanksgiving, Ferguson suddenly found a different way to shine.

As CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson interviewed the game's stars and handed out the traditional turkey legs, Ferguson took matters- and the massive MVP bird- into his own hands, quite literally.

"Brevyn Spann-Ford was standing behind me in that moment," Ferguson explained, "and he was like, 'Dude, you could stick your fist in there.' And I was like, 'I'm gonna do it.' He was like, 'No, I didn't tell you to do it!' 'No, I'm gonna do it.'"

Wearing the entire turkey over his fist like a meat boxing glove, Ferguson offered bites to his surrounding teammates. Then he ran toward the locker room, holding the smoked carcass aloft for fans on his way off the field.

"For some reason, I was yelling 'Freedom!' like Braveheart while I was running down there," he recalled.

Once inside the locker room, the former fourth-round draft pick continued feeding teammates with an extended fist, though he admits things got messy in a hurry.

"There's guys grabbing legs off of it, pieces of turkey," Ferguson said. "It completely ruined my pants, just dripping down my arm. Then I was like,' Okay, get this thing off of me.'"

It made for a viral moment, to be sure, but what was going through Ferguson's mind when he decided to shove his fist into a fully-smoked Thanksgiving Day turkey and start hand-feeding his teammates on live television?

"Intrusive thoughts, right there," Ferguson laughed. "Growing up, my parents have always tried to-- You know how they say, 'Have a filter in your mind?' That never happened for me."

Just imagine if his touchdown catch had actually counted.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson on overturned TD call, viral turkey grab